South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a federal lawsuit to block the Biden administration’s unconstitutional move to extend Obamacare coverage to some illegal immigrants.
The Biden administration has expanded the definition of individuals “lawfully present” in the United States to include so-called “Dreamers.” Officially known as DACA recipients, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, they’re children who were brought into the country illegally by their parents.
“I’m sympathetic to these people who didn’t choose to be brought here,” Attorney General Wilson said. “However, this is yet another example of the Biden administration trying to do something it doesn’t have the authority to do.”
The lawsuit argues that Congress already limited eligibility for federal benefits to certain qualified aliens, but aliens who’ve been granted deferred action under DACA are not included in that definition of qualified aliens. Congress also limited eligibility for the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” to only “citizens or nationals of the United States and aliens lawfully present.” DACA recipients, by definition, are unlawfully present in the U.S.
The final plan, set to take effect November 1, would make more than 200,000 DACA recipients eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health plans. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there are approximately 4,840 DACA recipients in South Carolina. And there are approximately 117,000 to 157,00 illegal aliens living in South Carolina, including their children, costing taxpayers between $555 million to $756 million per year.
The states are asking the Court to postpone the effective date of the Final Rule until it’s reviewed by the courts, throw out the rule as being against the law, and block the Biden administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from implementing it.
Joining South Carolina in the lawsuit are the states of Kansas, Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
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