Republican states sue to block Obamacare for Dreamers

(CN) — The Biden administration this year expanded the Affordable Care Act to include Dreamers, longtime undocumented residents who arrived in the U.S. as minors and receive some immigration protections through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is spearheading a multistate effort to stop the expansion, suing the feds on Thursday in federal court in North Dakota.

People who are in the United States without proper documentation "shouldn't get a free pass into our country," 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."

In their lawsuit, Kansas and 14 other states claim that extending coverage to DACA recipients would violate federal law — specifically, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. They say the proposal also violates the Affordable Care Act itself, better known by its nickname Obamacare.

The ACA limits its benefits to U.S. citizens and migrants who are lawfully in the United States, the Republican officials say in their lawsuit against the United States of America and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. They argue that "DACA recipients are, by definition, unlawfully present in the United States."

The suit comes after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced in May that they would expand the ACA to DACA beneficiaries.

"Starting in November, DACA recipients can apply for coverage through HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces, where they may qualify for financial assistance to help them purchase quality health insurance," a White House fact sheet released at the time says. "President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that health care should be a right, not a privilege."

DACA recipients, often known as Dreamers, are people without lawful immigration status who entered the United States as children. Then-President Barack Obama implemented DACA policies in 2012 with the goal of protecting these migrants from immigration enforcement.

Obama launched the policy to shield migrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally — and to allow those migrants to work. To qualify, migrants must have been born on or after June 16, 1981, and must have entered the country prior to their 16th birthday.

Despite these protections, Dreamers had long been ineligible for government-subsidized health insurance programs, as they technically did not have a “lawful presence” in the U.S.

The Biden administration changed the definition of lawfully present so that DACA participants could legally enroll in the program. At the time, the move was criticized by Republicans, including by the campaign of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Now, Republicans have taken those criticisms a step further, launching legal action. "Expanding eligibility for ACA coverage will impose additional administrative and resource burdens on states that have established their own ACA exchange by allowing additional persons to use such exchanges," they argue in their complaint.

In addition to North Dakota, attorneys general from Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia joined the suit.

Kobach's news release did not explain why the case was filed in North Dakota — though North Dakota is involved in the suit. Kobach's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this question.

Republicans may oppose the expansion — but not all experts do. Nicole Hallett, a professor of law and director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago, said she supported extending health care to DACA recipients, arguing they should get the same benefits as other groups of non-citizens. Hallett wouldn't not comment on the legal arguments in Thursday's case, noting it was not her area of expertise.

“The oldest of DACA recipients are now approaching middle age," she said. "They are raising families. They are buying homes, so they are fully integrated into our society. So, there is no reason they shouldn’t get the same access to health care too.”

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