15 States and the District of Columbia sued the US government to block US President Donald Trump’s plan to end protection against deportation for young immigrants who New York's attorney general labeled the “best of America.”
The 15 States are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday Sep 06,2017 asked a judge to strike down as unconstitutional the president’s action involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
It called the move “a culmination of President Trump’s oft-stated commitments ... to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots.”
Repealing of the DACA puts more than 20,000 Indian-Americans at risk of immediate deportation, placing India in the top ten countries for DACA eligibility.
“Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 Pakistan respectively are eligible for DACA,” the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said in a statement.
The attorneys general who brought the lawsuit all Democrats represent states where the population of DACA participants known as “dreamers” ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands. They were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.
Trump’s plan is “cruel, shortsighted, inhumane” and driven by a personal bias against Mexicans and Latinos, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said.
He said the 42,000 New Yorkers with protected status under the program are largely model citizens."They are the best of America…Dreamers play by the rules. Dreamers work hard. Dreamers pay taxes. For most of them, America is the only home they’ve ever known. And they deserve to stay here,” he added, using the term that came from a failed piece of legislation called the DREAM Act.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum called the government’s action “indefensible” and said Trump was “playing chicken” by giving Congress six months to improve DACA or cancel it.
Devin M. O’Malley, a Justice Department spokesman, said the agency looks forward to defending the administration’s position.
Under former President Barack Obama, Justice Department lawyers concluded in 2014 that DACA is lawful. The lawsuit filed says rescinding DACA will injure state-run colleges and universities, upset workplaces and damage companies and economies that include immigrants covered under the program.
The lawsuit noted that Harvard University has over 50 DACA students while Tufts University has more than 25. Both schools are in Massachusetts. “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” and be exposed to deportation, the lawsuit says.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday the program will end in six months so Congress can have time to find a legislative solution for people in the program. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
California, one of the most solid Democratic states, was noticeably absent. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra plans to file a separate lawsuit because a quarter of DACA recipients are California residents, his spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said.
Under Trump’s plan, people already enrolled in DACA remain covered until their permits expire. If that happens before March 5, they are eligible to renew them for another two years as long as they apply by October 5. But the program isn’t accepting new applications.
Opponents of the program said they are pleased with the Trump administration's decision. They called DACA an unconstitutional abuse of executive power. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, both Democrats, called Trump’s action cruel and outrageous, given that the decision was announced by Sessions rather than the president himself.
A half-dozen beneficiaries of DACA young adults from Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and elsewhere, including some now working at law firms or for the state Legislature — flanked Inslee and Ferguson at a news conference in Seattle announcing the lawsuit.
“It’s outrageous, it’s not right,” an emotional Ferguson said. “As attorney general for the state of Washington, I have a hammer, it’s the law.”
Inslee said, “This is one more of a long train of abuses that this president has attempted to foist on this great nation.”
Earlier this year, Ferguson sued Trump over his travel ban, prompting a federal judge to block nationwide enforcement.
WHAT IS DACA?
DACA was created by President Barack Obama in 2012 after intense pressure from immigrant advocates who wanted protections for the young immigrants who were mostly raised in the U.S. but lacked legal status.
The program protects them from deportation — granting a two-year reprieve that can be extended and by issuing a work permit and a Social Security number.
DACA recipients must meet several requirements, including having no criminal record. Immigrants who are accepted into the program and later get arrested face deportation to their home country.
They also must have been 30 or younger when the program was launched and brought to the U.S. before age 16.
The application cost is nearly $500, and permits must be renewed every two years. The application and renewal process take several weeks, and many immigrants hire lawyers to help navigate the process.
DACA does not give beneficiaries legal U.S. residency; they are simply given a reprieve from deportation while being allowed to legally work.
The overwhelming majority of DACA recipients are from Mexico. One in four of them live in California.
WHY DACA?
Frustration grew during the Obama administration over repeated failures to pass the "Dream Act," which would have provided a path to legal U.S. citizenship for young immigrants brought to the country as children.
The last major attempt to pass the legislation was in 2011.
Immigrant activists staged protests and participated in civil disobedience in an effort to push Obama to act after Congress did not pass legislation. DACA is different than the Dream Act because it does not provide a pathway to legal residency or citizenship. Still, DACA recipients are often referred to as "Dreamers" — a reference to the earlier proposals that failed in Congress before Obama's action.
WHY END DACA?
President Donald Trump was under pressure from several states that threatened to sue his administration if it did not end DACA. And he declared on the campaign trail that the program was an "illegal" executive amnesty.
White House officials argue the order Obama issued creating the program was unconstitutional and that Congress should take charge of legislation dealing the issue. They say the program was on shaky legal ground and would not have survived legal challenges in the courts.
Immigrant advocates, clergy and business leaders including the chief executives of Apple and Microsoft put intense pressure on Trump to maintain the program. But he decided to end it.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Young immigrants already enrolled in DACA remain covered until their permits expire.
If their permits expire before March, 5, 2018, they are eligible to renew them for another two years as long as they apply by Oct. 5.
If their permits expire beyond that March date, they will not be able to renew and could be subject to deportation when their permits expire.
People who miss the October deadline will be disqualified from renewing their permission to remain in the country and could face deportation, although the Trump administration has said it will not actively provide their information to immigration authorities.
And it will be up to Congress to take up and pass legislation helping DACA beneficiaries. One bill introduced this year would provide a path to legal permanent residency.
Many DACA beneficiaries say they worry they will be forced to take lower-wage, under-the-table jobs and will be unable to pay for college or help their families financially
The 15 States are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday Sep 06,2017 asked a judge to strike down as unconstitutional the president’s action involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
It called the move “a culmination of President Trump’s oft-stated commitments ... to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots.”
Repealing of the DACA puts more than 20,000 Indian-Americans at risk of immediate deportation, placing India in the top ten countries for DACA eligibility.
“Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 Pakistan respectively are eligible for DACA,” the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said in a statement.
The attorneys general who brought the lawsuit all Democrats represent states where the population of DACA participants known as “dreamers” ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands. They were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.
Trump’s plan is “cruel, shortsighted, inhumane” and driven by a personal bias against Mexicans and Latinos, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said.
He said the 42,000 New Yorkers with protected status under the program are largely model citizens."They are the best of America…Dreamers play by the rules. Dreamers work hard. Dreamers pay taxes. For most of them, America is the only home they’ve ever known. And they deserve to stay here,” he added, using the term that came from a failed piece of legislation called the DREAM Act.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum called the government’s action “indefensible” and said Trump was “playing chicken” by giving Congress six months to improve DACA or cancel it.
Devin M. O’Malley, a Justice Department spokesman, said the agency looks forward to defending the administration’s position.
Under former President Barack Obama, Justice Department lawyers concluded in 2014 that DACA is lawful. The lawsuit filed says rescinding DACA will injure state-run colleges and universities, upset workplaces and damage companies and economies that include immigrants covered under the program.
The lawsuit noted that Harvard University has over 50 DACA students while Tufts University has more than 25. Both schools are in Massachusetts. “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” and be exposed to deportation, the lawsuit says.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday the program will end in six months so Congress can have time to find a legislative solution for people in the program. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
California, one of the most solid Democratic states, was noticeably absent. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra plans to file a separate lawsuit because a quarter of DACA recipients are California residents, his spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said.
Under Trump’s plan, people already enrolled in DACA remain covered until their permits expire. If that happens before March 5, they are eligible to renew them for another two years as long as they apply by October 5. But the program isn’t accepting new applications.
Opponents of the program said they are pleased with the Trump administration's decision. They called DACA an unconstitutional abuse of executive power. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, both Democrats, called Trump’s action cruel and outrageous, given that the decision was announced by Sessions rather than the president himself.
A half-dozen beneficiaries of DACA young adults from Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and elsewhere, including some now working at law firms or for the state Legislature — flanked Inslee and Ferguson at a news conference in Seattle announcing the lawsuit.
“It’s outrageous, it’s not right,” an emotional Ferguson said. “As attorney general for the state of Washington, I have a hammer, it’s the law.”
Inslee said, “This is one more of a long train of abuses that this president has attempted to foist on this great nation.”
Earlier this year, Ferguson sued Trump over his travel ban, prompting a federal judge to block nationwide enforcement.
WHAT IS DACA?
DACA was created by President Barack Obama in 2012 after intense pressure from immigrant advocates who wanted protections for the young immigrants who were mostly raised in the U.S. but lacked legal status.
The program protects them from deportation — granting a two-year reprieve that can be extended and by issuing a work permit and a Social Security number.
DACA recipients must meet several requirements, including having no criminal record. Immigrants who are accepted into the program and later get arrested face deportation to their home country.
They also must have been 30 or younger when the program was launched and brought to the U.S. before age 16.
The application cost is nearly $500, and permits must be renewed every two years. The application and renewal process take several weeks, and many immigrants hire lawyers to help navigate the process.
DACA does not give beneficiaries legal U.S. residency; they are simply given a reprieve from deportation while being allowed to legally work.
The overwhelming majority of DACA recipients are from Mexico. One in four of them live in California.
WHY DACA?
Frustration grew during the Obama administration over repeated failures to pass the "Dream Act," which would have provided a path to legal U.S. citizenship for young immigrants brought to the country as children.
The last major attempt to pass the legislation was in 2011.
Immigrant activists staged protests and participated in civil disobedience in an effort to push Obama to act after Congress did not pass legislation. DACA is different than the Dream Act because it does not provide a pathway to legal residency or citizenship. Still, DACA recipients are often referred to as "Dreamers" — a reference to the earlier proposals that failed in Congress before Obama's action.
WHY END DACA?
President Donald Trump was under pressure from several states that threatened to sue his administration if it did not end DACA. And he declared on the campaign trail that the program was an "illegal" executive amnesty.
White House officials argue the order Obama issued creating the program was unconstitutional and that Congress should take charge of legislation dealing the issue. They say the program was on shaky legal ground and would not have survived legal challenges in the courts.
Immigrant advocates, clergy and business leaders including the chief executives of Apple and Microsoft put intense pressure on Trump to maintain the program. But he decided to end it.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Young immigrants already enrolled in DACA remain covered until their permits expire.
If their permits expire before March, 5, 2018, they are eligible to renew them for another two years as long as they apply by Oct. 5.
If their permits expire beyond that March date, they will not be able to renew and could be subject to deportation when their permits expire.
People who miss the October deadline will be disqualified from renewing their permission to remain in the country and could face deportation, although the Trump administration has said it will not actively provide their information to immigration authorities.
And it will be up to Congress to take up and pass legislation helping DACA beneficiaries. One bill introduced this year would provide a path to legal permanent residency.
Many DACA beneficiaries say they worry they will be forced to take lower-wage, under-the-table jobs and will be unable to pay for college or help their families financially
Where DACA applicants come from and the states that get the most applications
US President Donald Trump decided to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) programme on September 5, 2017. The program, designed to give immigrant children, who came to the U.S. illegally under the age of 16, a chance to stay on to study or work in America, was put into action by his predecessor, Barack Obama in August 2012. Here’s a look at which countries the DACA applicants come from and which US states granted the most permits to DACA applicants.
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