New York Joins 14 Other States and Washington D.C. in Lawsuit Against Trump Administration over DACA

Following the decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, states have stepped forward to sue the Trump administration alleging violations of due process and equal protection rights.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York and led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on behalf of 16 Attorneys General. These charges address the impact that ending the DACA program will have on its 800,000 members and allege that the decision was made on discriminatory basis, due to Trump's previous statements:

Ending DACA, whose participants are mostly of Mexican origin, is a culmination of President’s Trump’s oft-stated commitments—whether personally held, stated to appease some portion of his constituency, or some combination thereof—to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots.
— New York et al. v. Trump et al.

Of the DREAMers under the DACA policy, 42,000 are New Yorkers, and A.G. Schneiderman reinforces that ending DACA will violate their right to equal treatment:

The Attorney General is empowered to advance New York’s strong and important public policy against unlawful discrimination. New York’s Constitution guarantees all persons the right to equal treatment under the law and forbids discrimination based on race, color, creed or religion. And New York’s statutes reiterate the State’s strong interest in combatting discrimination and prejudice.

Joining New York in the lawsuit are: Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are: Donald Trump, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Read the full lawsuit here [PDF]