North Dakota
North Dakota joins suit to block taxpayer-funded health care for protected immigrants
BISMARCK — North Dakota has joined a lawsuit to block 200,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children under an Obama administration program from accessing taxpayer-funded health care.
North Dakota Attorney General
Drew Wrigley
signed on to the lawsuit led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. The case, filed Aug. 8 in North Dakota U.S. District Court, will be decided by federal Judge Daniel Traynor, who is seated in Bismarck.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Along with North Dakota and Kansas, 13 other Republican-led states have signed the complaint against the U.S. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The administrative procedure lawsuit seeks to reverse a Biden administration rule that would expand access to health care to recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA. In 2012, then-President Barack Obama signed an executive order that protected children brought to the U.S. illegally from deportation.
President Joe Biden announced in May that his administration would expand health care to DACA beneficiaries, also called “Dreamers.” It classifies those who are “lawfully present” in the U.S. as eligible for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“I’m proud of the contributions of Dreamers to our country and committed to providing Dreamers the support they need to succeed,” Biden said in a statement. “That’s why I’ve previously directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to ‘preserve and fortify’ DACA. And that’s why today we are taking this historic step to ensure that DACA recipients have the same access to health care through the Affordable Care Act as their neighbors.”
The Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, was a 2010 law that made affordable health care coverage more available to uninsured U.S. citizens. It also required citizens to obtain health insurance.
The lawsuit claims those protected by DACA do not qualify for taxpayer-funded health care because, “by definition,” they are unlawfully present in the U.S. There are 530,110 such immigrants in the U.S., and the final rule would allow up to 200,000 to be eligible for “a subsidized health plan,” the lawsuit said.
“For over a decade, Obama’s DACA executive order has been defended in court on the basis that is was not changing anyone’s legal status, it was merely exercising prosecutorial discretion not to deport certain aliens,” Wrigley said. “Now, the federal government turns around and says DACA does change aliens’ legal status by making them ‘lawfully present’ for government subsidized healthcare. The lawlessness and hypocrisy of that move is breathtaking.”
Expanding government-supported health care to DACA beneficiaries would place administrative, financial and resource burdens on states, the lawsuit said. The rule also could encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally with the hope that their children would qualify for health care under DACA, the lawsuit claimed.
“It is likely that aliens who would otherwise have returned to their countries of origin will instead remain in the United States because of the eligibility for ACA coverage provided by the Final Rule,” the lawsuit said, referring to the Affordable Care Act.
North Dakota has 160 immigrants protected by DACA, the lawsuit said. Court documents estimated that 6,000 to 9,000 immigrants live in North Dakota illegally and cost taxpayers between $27 million and $36 million a year.
“Illegal aliens shouldn’t get a free pass into our country,” Kobach said in a statement. “They shouldn’t receive taxpayer benefits when they arrive, and the Biden-Harris administration shouldn’t get a free pass to violate federal law.”
Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia have also joined the lawsuit.
Waukee, Iowa native Tavian White was verbally committed to North Dakota since May 8, but he flipped that decision to Minnesota on Saturday night, after taking a visit to the school over the weekend. He’s now expected to sign with the Gophers 2026 class.
“ROW THE BOAT 🛶〽️🏡 ROW THE BOAT 🛶〽️🏡 — Tavian White (@tavianwhitee1) November 30, 2025
110% Committed Isaiah 43:19,” he posted on X.
110% Committed
Isaiah 43:19 pic.twitter.com/zwMJcWDdON
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Standing 6-foot, 175 pounds, White played free safety, cornerback and strong safety, along with wide receiver for Waukee High School as a senior. He accumulated 30 total tackles in seven games. He’s also an impressive track athlete.
White is currently unranked by 247Sports. He held other scholarship offers from Western Illinois, Lindenwood, Northern Iowa and Minnesota State Mankato, according to the site. He’s now the 30th high schooler verbally committed to the Gophers 2026 recruited class, before the early national signing period begins next week on Wednesday, December 3.
Minnesota’s 2026 class currently ranked as the 25th-best in the country, according to 247Sports, as of Sunday.
North Dakota
North Dakota scores 21 points in 4th quarter, beats Tennessee Tech 31-6 in FCS playoffs
COOKEVILLE, Tennessee (KNFL/KFGO/AP) — Colton Brunell, Gaven Ziebarth and Charles Langama each had a touchdown run in the final quarter for North Dakota in a 31-6 win over No. 13 seed Tennessee Tech on Saturday in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
North Dakota will play at No. 4 seed Tarleton State in the second round game on Saturday.
Jerry Kaminski found Deng Deng in the end zone off a 21-yard pass in the second quarter to make it 10-0 for North Dakota (8-5). Later in the second half, Kaminski took a late hit to the helmet which kept him sidelined for the rest of the game. Kaminski finished with nine completions for 98 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
North Dakota relied heavily on their run game after Kaminski’s injury. In the fourth quarter, Brunell scored on an 8-yard run, Ziebarth punched it in from three yards out, and Langama scored his first career touchdown off an 18-yard sprint up the middle.
North Dakota’s defense came up big multiple times, accounting for six sacks, four fumble recoveries, two interceptions and shut out Tennessee Tech for three quarters.
Tennessee Tech’s Kekoa Visperas completed 30 of 51 passes for 278 yards and threw one touchdown — a 45-yarder to Brian Courtney in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles finish their season 11-2.
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