AG Ferguson Will Sue If Trump Cancels DACA

SEATTLE, WA - Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson will sue President Donald Trump if the president cancels DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created during the Barack Obama administration. Multiple news outlets have reported that Trump on Tuesday will end DACA with a six-month grace period.

"If President Trump follows through on his reported decision to cancel DACA after a six-month delay, the Washington Attorney General's Office will file suit to halt this cruel and illegal policy and defend DACA recipients," Ferguson said. “We have been working closely with legal teams around the country, and we expect to be joined by other states in this action," Ferguson said in a statement issued over Labor Day weekend. "As Attorney General, I will use all the legal tools at my disposal to defend the thousands of Dreamers in Washington state."

Immigration enforcement is deferred for DACA recipients, who are also called "Dreamers"; the program is open to people living in the U.S. who were brought here illegally as children. About 800,000 people have received DACA status since the program went into effect in 2012, but up to 1 million more people living in the U.S. might be eligible. DACA is not open to convicted criminals.

In July, Ferguson was among 19 state attorneys general who sent Trump a letter asking him not to end DACA. The letter warns that canceling DACA will jeopardize the 800,000 DACA recipients, but also thousands of employers and schools in the U.S. that would lose students and employees.

Trump campaigned, in part, on ending DACA, but after his election suggested he might keep the program around.

"Mr. President, now is the time to affirm the commitment you made, both to the 'incredible kids' who benefit from DACA and to their families and our communities, to handle this issue 'with heart,'" the letter said. "You said Dreamers should 'rest easy.' We urge you to affirm America’s values and tradition as a nation of immigrants and make clear that you will not only continue DACA, but that you will defend it."

Image via Associated Press