(5MinNewsBreak.com) – In a crushing blow, a federal judge shot down the Biden administration’s attempts to provide Obamacare benefits to illegal immigrants.
Judge Daniel M. Traynor issued a preliminary injunction blocking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from accessing the Affordable Care Act in 19 states.
The ruling comes in response to a challenge by these states against the Biden administration’s Final Rule.
The Final Rule would have allowed DACA recipients to enroll in Obamacare health plans and receive financial assistance.
This move would have potentially provided health insurance access to as many as 100,000 people benefiting from DACA, a program former President Barack Obama initiated to protect individuals from deportation.
Judge Traynor’s decision highlights the crucial distinction between executive overreach and congressional authority.
He stated that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) do not have the power to redefine “lawfully present” individuals to include DACA recipients without legislative input from Congress.
“The authority granted to CMS by the ACA is to ascertain whether an individual meets the requirements for lawful status. It by no means allows the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present,'” Judge Traynor declared in his ruling.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the charge against this expansion, praised the court’s decision.
Kobach’s statement shows the core issue at stake: preserving the rule of law and preventing benefits meant for American citizens from being extended to those who entered the country illegally.
“This decision is a big win for the rule of law. Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obamacare benefits. Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits,” Kobach stated.
“The Biden administration tried to break those laws. But we fought back and defeated the Biden Justice Department,” he added.
The states involved in the lawsuit argued that if they were forced to comply with the rule, they would face irreparable harm and potential loss of federal support.
In turn, left-leaning organizations like the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) expressed disappointment with the ruling and vowed to continue fighting for DACA recipients’ access to healthcare.
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