US states sue over Biden rule extending health insurance to DACA immigrants [View all]
Source: Reuters
August 8, 2024 6:12 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago
Aug 8 (Reuters) - A group of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block the Biden administration from allowing up to 200,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to access federally-run health insurance.
The 15 states led by the office of Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach say a rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May violates a federal law that prohibits giving public benefits to people who lack legal immigration status.
The rule classifies participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created in 2012 as "legally present" in the United States, allowing them to enroll in basic healthcare programs created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But Kansas and the other states in their lawsuit said that because individuals have to lack legal status to enroll in DACA, they are by definition not legally present in the country.
They said the rule improperly encourages DACA recipients to remain in the United States illegally, in turn forcing states to spend millions of dollars on public services for them and their children. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-states-sue-over-biden-rule-extending-health-insurance-daca-immigrants-2024-08-08/
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