Judge Blocks Biden Admin Healthcare Immigration Policy

Here’s the scoop, and let me tell you, this one is bound to stir the pot.

A federal judge in North Dakota just put the brakes on a controversial Biden administration policy that would’ve opened the door for certain illegal immigrants to get government-backed health care. We’re talking about a change that would have made Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients eligible for Obamacare benefits—yes, you heard that right.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor delivered the decision on Monday, siding with Kansas and 18 Republican attorneys general who challenged the policy. He didn’t mince words, ruling that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overstepped its bounds when it tried to redefine “lawfully present” to include DACA recipients.

In his opinion, Traynor made it clear that CMS doesn’t have the authority to rewrite the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fit its agenda. “Congress didn’t say ‘play fast and loose with the rules,’” was the essence of his argument.

The origins of this debate go back to the Obama administration, which created the DACA program via executive order, allowing certain illegal immigrants who arrived as minors to avoid deportation.

But here’s the catch: the ACA explicitly denies benefits like federal healthcare subsidies to people unlawfully present in the U.S. Traynor’s ruling reiterated that point, signaling that any attempt to reinterpret this provision would need to go through Congress, not a federal agency.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who spearheaded the lawsuit, hailed the decision as a “big win for the rule of law.” His argument? Granting these benefits would not only flout existing laws but also incentivize illegal immigration by dangling health care as a perk.

The Biden administration’s rule change drew sharp criticism when it was first proposed, with opponents like President-elect Donald Trump’s team calling it a slap in the face to Americans struggling to make ends meet. Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt didn’t hold back, framing it as unfair to minority communities and union workers who face the economic fallout of illegal immigration.

This isn’t the first time the Biden administration’s immigration policies have hit a legal roadblock. Just last month, another judge struck down a separate program that aimed to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.