In an ongoing effort to safeguard Missourians’ tax dollars, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced his participation in a 15-state coalition filing a lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration. The lawsuit challenges a new rule that treats illegal aliens as legal citizens, thereby requiring states to fund their public benefits.
Attorney General Bailey expressed strong opposition to the rule, stating, “Not only is the Biden-Harris Administration responsible for bringing illegal aliens into Missouri, they are also giving illegal immigrants access to citizen benefits for free, encouraging them to remain here illegally on the taxpayers’ dime. The American people are already struggling to make ends meet in the current economy; their paychecks should fund their own healthcare, not the healthcare of those here illegally. I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to ensure that Missourians’ hard-earned dollars are not funding illegal immigration.”
The rule, set to go into effect on Nov. 1, 2024, would require states to allocate limited resources to support illegal immigrants. According to Attorney General Bailey, there are currently between 77,000 and 104,000 illegal aliens residing in Missouri, costing taxpayers approximately $342 million to $462 million annually.
The lawsuit argues that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) restricts eligibility for participation in a qualified health plan through a subsidized health exchange to U.S. citizens, nationals, and individuals who are “lawfully present” in the United States. The coalition of states contends that the Biden-Harris Administration’s new definition of “lawfully present” is unlawful, as it contradicts the plain text of the ACA. Specifically, the Final Rule amends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) definition of “lawfully present” to include DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, thereby allowing them to receive taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits through the ACA.
Missouri is joined in this legal challenge by the attorneys general of Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The lawsuit can be read here.
