A federal court in North Dakota has blocked a rule proposed by the Biden Administration that aimed to extend taxpayer-subsidized health plans to undocumented immigrants. This decision came after Attorney General Raúl Labrador, along with 18 other state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit to prevent the rule from being implemented. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach led the coalition and argued the case in October. The court's ruling granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the coalition.
"This is another solid victory for the rule of law," stated Attorney General Labrador. "Federal statutes are clear that illegal immigrants shall not receive Obamacare benefits, but Idaho and other states had to sue to force the federal government to comply. The utter disregard for federal laws, from the illegal immigrants and the Biden Administration both, is unacceptable and indistinguishable."
The contested regulation would have allowed over 200,000 recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to qualify for Obamacare. The coalition contended that a 1996 law generally bars undocumented immigrants from accessing federal benefits and emphasized that under the Affordable Care Act—commonly known as Obamacare—an individual must be lawfully present in the United States to obtain subsidized health insurance.
Joining Labrador and Kobach were attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.