Fifteen states and the District of Columbia on Wednesday sued to block President Donald Trump’s plan to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of New York, the AP said.
The plaintiffs were New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said a program, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, will end in six months to give Congress time to find a legislative solution for the immigrants.
The participants were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.
Those 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. But the program isn’t accepting new applications.
Glen Fowler, President of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), issued a position statement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program today on behalf of the association.
The statement, presented as an open letter to President Donald Trump, is as follows:
“The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) respectfully requests that you continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It is the morally right and strategically positive thing to do.
The children brought to the United States at a very young age did not knowingly, intentionally violate the law. They were raised, schooled, and now work as if they were native-born Americans. To deport them back to a “homeland” they would likely find strange, unwelcome and dangerous would not represent the American spirit of justice, even though it may fit the letter of the law.
The individuals who qualify under the DACA program represent the furthest thing from a threat to American security or a burden to government. To qualify, an individual must have come to the United States before turning 16 and have been a resident since 2012; they either must be in school or have graduated at least high school; they must not have been convicted of a serious crime, and must be judged as not representing a threat to national security. They are a positive element of the American economy and contribute positively to the state through their productivity and the taxes they pay. Since they are not eligible for government programs such as federal means-tested welfare, health care subsidies, Pell grants or federally subsidized student loans, their tax contributions represent a net positive benefit to the American government whose loss some have estimated in the billions of dollars.
NACE recognizes that DACA does not represent a permanent solution for the “Dreamers” covered by the program. However, until a just and effective permanent solution to the conundrum of the “Dreamers” is enacted we urge you to continue DACA and let these individuals remain in the United States and allow them to continue their positive contributions to their country.”
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