A coalition of 16 attorneys general from 15 states and Washington, D.C. have sued the federal government over Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has allowed 800,000 undocumented immigrant youth to work legally and live free from the fear of deportation. The lawsuit, according to a press release from the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, “details how the Trump administration has violated the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution by discriminating against DREAMers of Mexican origin, who make up 78 percent of DACA recipients; violated Due Process rights; and harmed States’ residents, institutions, and economies”:
“Since 2012, DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people to live, study, and work in the United States, and to become stable and even more productive members of their communities, without fear that they could be arrested and placed in deportation proceedings at any moment. Throughout the country, DACA grantees are employed by various companies and State and municipal agencies, which benefit from their skills and productivity. DACA grantees also contribute significantly to State and local revenues and tax bases. Yet, as a result of the DHS Memorandum, approximately 1,400 DACA grantees will lose their work authorization and risk termination of employment each day as their terms begin to expire. DACA recipients will lose their eligibility for public and employer-based health insurance programs that reduce the states’ health expenditures and promote public health. They also will lose their right to enroll in higher education institutions with in-state admissions preferences and tuition; thus, public universities will be deprived of a means by which they enrich the experience of all students and faculty through diversity and new perspectives.
Among the states are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
“The consequence of the president’s animus-driven decision is that approximately 800,000 persons who have availed themselves of the program will ultimately lose its protections,” the lawsuit states, “and will be exposed to removal when their authorizations expire and they cannot seek renewal.”
Schneiderman: “These DREAMers play by the rules. They work hard and pay taxes. America is the only home they have ever known—and they deserve to stay here and keep contributing to our state and our nation. That’s why we’re taking the Trump administration to court to protect DREAMers and the New York employers who rely on them. It’s clear that President Trump’s DACA repeal would cause huge economic harm to New York—and that it’s driven by President Trump’s personal anti-Mexican bias. Attorneys general have not hesitated to act to protect those we serve, and I’m committed to continuing to use every tool to protect New Yorkers.”
See the entire text from the lawsuit here.