AG: Giving childhood migrants federal health insurance could cost South Dakota $26M

Figures used to back DACA case questioned by South Dakota progressives

(South Dakota Attorney General’s Office)

Treating immigrant children brought illegally into the U.S. as citizens will cost South Dakota tens of millions of dollars each year.

That’s the case Attorney General Marty Jackley made this week as he joined his counterparts from Kansas and North Dakota in U.S. Federal Court this week, challenging a proposed federal rule that would grant Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients access to health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Republican state prosecutors argued that the rule, set to take effect Nov. 1, would strain state finances and threaten public safety.

“The burdens fall on the states when Washington fails to address illegal immigration and secure our southern border,” Jackley said following Tuesday’s hearing. “It has affected the public health and safety with the flow of meth and fentanyl from the southern border into our states. The financial burden of this proposed DACA rule for South Dakota families is real, ranging between $26 million to $35 million per year.”

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