Several States Sue Trump Administration Over DACA Repeal

Fifteen states and DC have launched a legal challenge against President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. A coalition of attorney generals representing Democratic-leaning states filed the lawsuit in New York’s Eastern District on Wednesday.

The 58-page complaint argues that Trump’s repeal of DACA is not only unconstitutional, but also entrenched in discrimination and racism (what gave that away?). Citing Trump’s habitual denigration of anyone who doesn’t look like him, particularly his disturbing characterization of all Mexicans as “rapists,” the lawsuit openly criticizes Trump’s race-baiting as a political ploy.

“The president has demonstrated a willingness to disparage Mexicans in a misguided attempt to secure support from his constituency, even when such impulses are impermissible motives for directing government policy,” the lawsuit claims. USA Today also noted that the lawsuit alleges a rescission of DACA would disrupt local economies, education, and health care systems.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has led previous legal campaigns against the Trump administration, announced the lawsuit at a rally in New York. Schneiderman described DACA’s repeal as “cruel, shortsighted, inhumane, and politically devastating” before vowing to protect the state’s some 42,000 DACA recipients.

Part of the lawsuit takes aim at the Trump administration’s access to the personal information of nearly 700,000 people who signed up for the program and who now fear their information will be used to deport them or their families without due process.

North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, joined New York in filing the lawsuit.