Since the Trump administration announced that they will be ending the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, a growing number of states have been filing against the federal government to protect ‘Dreamers’ and DACA recipients.
North Carolina’s Attorney General Josh Stein just added our state to the list by filing with the U.S. District Court. The lawsuit claims that the Trump Administration violated Due Process rights and the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution by discriminating against Dreamers.
The lawsuit also states that ending DACA will harm North Carolina residents, institutions, and economies.
I'm suing to protect #DACA. Ending DACA isn’t just cruel to Dreamers, against our American values (1)
— Josh Stein (@JoshStein_) September 6, 2017
and the wrong thing to do for our nation’s economy, it also violates our Constitution. I will do everything in my power to restore DACA (2)
— Josh Stein (@JoshStein_) September 6, 2017
for the tens of thousands of young people in North Carolina who rely on it – including fighting for them in court. (3) #DACA
— Josh Stein (@JoshStein_) September 6, 2017
North Carolina is currently home to over 27,000 residents under DACA protection (there are about 800,000 DACA recipients across the US).
Our state Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy indicates that DACA grantees currently pay over $63,618,000 per year in state and local taxes.
Other states who have also filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration for ending DACA included New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
What do you think about the decision to end DACA?
What do you think about our decision to sue?