DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL: “More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday [9-6-17], challenging the president’s plan to rescind a program that protects undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children.
The lawsuit came a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created by former President Barack Obama. The program allowed nearly 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. as children to receive temporary work permits and protection from deportation.
Wednesday’s lawsuit, brought by attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia, said rescinding DACA violates the Constitution’s equal protection and due process rights for DACA recipients.
The lawsuit alleges President Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA was motivated partly by discrimination against people of Mexican origin, which make up more than 78% of DACA recipients. The plaintiffs point to a number of disparaging statements made by Mr. Trump about Mexicans and Latinos during his campaign, including his criticism last year that a federal judge in Indiana couldn’t be impartial in a case involving Trump University because the judge was ‘of Mexican heritage.’
The states also claim the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which prohibits actions by federal agencies that are ‘arbitrary’ and ‘capricious.’ Federal officials rescinded DACA with ‘minimal formal guidance,’ the plaintiffs said.”
-Nicole Hong, “States Sue Trump Administration to Preserve DACA,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 6, 2017 04:21pm