It’s not surprising but it is disappointing. Nebraska has joined 14 other states to file a lawsuit to block President Biden’s plan to extend the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, to the 600,000 DACA residents currently living in America. 

There are approximately 1.9 million Dreamers living in America.  A dreamer, as you know, is a person who was brought across the border illegally as a child by their parents. Of those, approximately 600,000 are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.

Not every Dreamer has enrolled in DACA and not every Dreamer is eligible to enroll.  The requirements are quite specific. Some who qualified were skeptical of the government and chose not to be a part of the program. Since 2021, the courts have blocked new candidates but allowed those already in the system to remain as more legal challenges worked their way through the courts.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has joined 14 other clueless Attorney Generals in blocking the DACA recipients from buying into Obamacare. 

I say clueless because an overwhelming number of Americans support letting the Dreamers live here legally. According to Pew Research 73% say they should have legal protection.

And why shouldn’t they? If a 15 year old American robs a liquor store or gets in other trouble with the law their record is sealed when they become an adult. They are allowed to live their life without the albatross of youthful misdeeds hanging over their heads. 

 Yet when a young child is forced to break the law when their parents sneak them across the border, they have to live with that the rest of their lives?  Tell me how that makes any sense. 

These DACA recipients have been raised in America. They have been taught in our schools. They have served in our military. They have paid their taxes. They should be treated better than this. 

According to U.S, Citizen and Immigration Service there are almost 2,500 DACA recipients living in Nebraska. Why would the AG want to deny them healthcare? That certainly isn’t Nebraska Nice. 

Immigration is an issue in the upcoming election, and it’s an important issue that needs to be addressed. When the Senate worked hard to come up with a bi-partisan plan to shore up the border, the Republican House wouldn’t even take it up for a vote. It was more politically advantageous for them to keep things in disarray than to try to change laws to make things better. 

The same is true with DACA. Codifying DACA into law should be a no brainer, but a handful of legislators have been able to stop that from happening. Even though, as I’ve mentioned, almost 3/4ths of American citizens favor it. 

I’m not going to say that Obamacare is perfect, but I am going to say that denying people health care when they have already assimilated into the American culture is foolish.

People without health insurance don’t go to the doctor. They wait until they get really sick and then go to the emergency room. Emergency rooms are expensive. Many aren’t able to pay the bill which forces the hospital to write it off and that increases the cost of health insurance for the rest of us. 

It’s time to codify DACA into law. Besides the right to vote, DACA enrollees should have the same rights and privileges as American citizens. It’s time to stop playing politics with people’s lives and come up with sensible solutions to our immigration issues. Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate need to work together to accomplish this so that future Presidents won’t have to keep making executive orders that get challenged in court.

Twenty-seven states have Republican Attorney Generals.  A little more than half of them signed on to this lawsuit.  The others realize that blocking these people from getting healthcare is cruel and just doesn’t make sense. 

I don’t want to sound mean spirited but Nebraska’s Attorney Generals aren’t making sense. Nebraska needs the workers, and the workers need healthcare. I wish Mr. Hilgers and other Nebraska lawmakers realized this.

 Like I said, I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com