Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Starting today (November 1), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients can apply for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They had been previously barred from signing up.
Now, under a Biden administration rule, so-called “Dreamers” will be able to enroll in and receive premium subsidies—if their income qualifies—for Obamacare coverage. The federal government estimates about 100,000 previously uninsured people out of the half-million DACA recipients might sign up. Under the rule, Dreamers will be considered “lawfully present” for the purposes of enrolling in plans under the ACA. Before this rule, the ACA was only open to American citizens and lawfully present immigrants.
However, the rule is being challenged in federal court by Kansas and 18 other states in the South and Midwest, along with Montana, New Hampshire and North Dakota.
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Conversely, 19 states and the District of Columbia have filed a brief in support of the Biden administration rule. It’s being led by New Jersey. Many of the participating states are on the East and West coasts, including California, Colorado, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico.
“The rule change is super important as it corrects a long-standing and erroneous exclusion of DACA recipients from ACA coverage,” Nicholas Espíritu, a deputy legal director for the National Immigration Law Center, said.
The states that are challenging the ACA rule say it will cause administrative and resource burdens as more people enroll. They also believe it will encourage people to stay in the U.S. when they don’t have legal status. The lawsuit, filed in August in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, failed to postpone the rule’s effective date. However, they are still challenging to overturn it. They said the expansion of the “lawfully present” definition by the Biden administration violates federal law.
This week, defendants presented more information in the case and North Dakota must respond by November 12.
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