Minnesota’s Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison is supporting a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration’s rule barring immigrants from entering the United States if they do not have certain health insurance or are unable to pay for their medical care.
In an amicus brief filed Tuesday, Ellison and 22 other state attorneys general supported the suit, which challenges the administration’s October Health Insurance Proclamation. In the brief, the attorneys general write that the proclamation illegally imposes additional immigration restrictions that contradict laws passed by Congress, such as the Affordable Care Act, and adds an entry condition for immigrants that Congress did not choose to include.
The attorneys general said the proclamation disqualifies a “significant number” of applicants who would typically qualify for legal immigration status, and could potentially result in family separations.
In a Wednesday news release, Ellison said the administration is “attempting to violate the law to pursue their anti-immigrant political agenda.”
“I’m not going to stand by and let them use health care to harm thousands of Minnesota families,” he said.
The brief was led by California Attorney Xavier General Becerra and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
On Nov. 2, the day the Trump rule was scheduled to take effect, a federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked it.