15 states sue to block Biden’s effort to help migrants in US illegally get health coverage
TOPEKA, Kan. — (AP) — Fifteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act’s health insurance.
The states are seeking to block the rule from taking effect Nov. 1 and providing people known as “Dreamers” access to tax breaks when they sign up for coverage. The Affordable Care Act’s marketplace enrollment opens the same day, just four days ahead of the presidential election.
The states filed suit in North Dakota, one of the states involved. All have Republican attorneys general who are part of a GOP effort to thwart Biden administration rules advancing Democratic policy goals.
The lawsuit comes amid Republican attacks on Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, as weakon curbing illegal immigration. Border crossings hit record highs during the Biden administration but have dropped more recently.
“Illegal aliens shouldn’t get a free pass into our country,” Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said in a statement. “They shouldn’t receive taxpayer benefits when they arrive, and the Biden-Harris administration shouldn’t get a free pass to violate federal law.”
Kobach is an immigration hardliner who began building a national profile two decades ago by urging tough restrictions on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and he helped draft Arizona’s “show your papers” law in 2010. Besides Kansas and North Dakota, the other states involved in the lawsuit are Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking comment about the lawsuit. But Biden said in May in outlining the rule that he was “committed to providing Dreamers the support they need to succeed.” The Biden administration is shielding them from deportation.
Read the entire story here and another write up here.
You can see the ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com Chris Carr page here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.