Although U.S. law gives the federal government the authority to make determinations about immigrants’ legal presence, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor said that it does not “[allow] the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present.’”
A federal judge has issued a ruling that will prevent the young undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers” from obtaining health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s public marketplace.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor issued the order on Monday. Traynor’s decision has quickly been posited as a setback for the outgoing Biden administration, which had released a federal rule allowing about 147,000 Dreamers to enroll for coverage.
The term “Dreamers” refers to immigrants who were brought without authorization to the United States as children. Dreamers are typically entitled to temporary, renewable work and residency permits, and must meet stringent criteria to remain in the program. In general, Dreamers cannot remain in the United States if they have been accused or convicted of certain crimes.
Although Democrats and Republicans have broadly expressed support for Dreamers, the conservative attorneys general of 19 states sued to block the Biden administration’s health insurance rule. In their complaint, the attorneys general cited concerns that undocumented Dreamers could use their Affordable Care Act insurance to qualify for other public benefits, including benefits that are not typically extended to asylum-seekers and other non-citizens.
In his ruling, Traynor said that there is “common-sense inference” that access to subsidized Affordable Care Act coverage could and would incentivize people to remain in the United States illegally, creating a substantial risk that the plaintiff states will “suffer monetary harm.
Although U.S. law gives the federal government the authority to make determinations about immigrants’ legal presence, Traynor said that it does not “[allow] the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present.’”
Drew Wrigley, the Republican attorney general of North Dakota, said that these sorts of decisions should be made on behalf of the American people by their elected representatives in Congress.
“And it doesn’t always come across as friendly and nice and cuddly, but it speaks to the access to our health care system, the cost of our health care system, and the burden on the American public,” Wrigley said in a statement.
But Nicholas Espiritu, the deputy legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, has said that some Dreamers have been waiting more than a decade to get “life-sustaining care” through the Affordable Care Act.
“Judge Traynor’s ruling is both disappointing and wrong on the law,” Espiritu said, indicating that his group will appeal the ruling and continue its fight on the matter.
Sources
For now, ‘Dreamers’ will be shut out of the health care marketplace in 19 states
Ruling blocks undocumented immigrants from using health insurance under ACA
Join the conversation!