15 States Suing Trump Over DACA Cancellation

SEATTLE, WA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday morning that Washington will lead a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The lawsuit will be filed Wednesday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York and involves Washington, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Connecticut, Oregon, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

The states are suing citing a number of claims, Ferguson said, including violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and constitutional violations. Ferguson said that the states are alleging that Trump's cancellation of DACA is, in part, racially motivated since 80 percent of DACA recipients are Mexican.

"The president has made numerous statements disparaging Mexicans," Ferguson said. "A majority of Dreamers are being targeted for mistreatment based on their national origin. If the majority of Dreamers were Caucasians, does anyone think the president would take this action he took yesterday?"

Watch: 15 States Sue Trump On DACA Rollback

The claim of "racial animus" against Muslims was used by Ferguson when he sued Trump earlier this year over the travel ban. Washington's lawsuit was successful in stopping the first travel ban.

Ferguson also called the DACA cancellation "arbitrary and capricious" under the APA because DACA has never been ruled illegal.

"No court has actually held that [DACA is illegal]," Ferguson said. "Up until yesterday, the Department of Justice argued that DACA is legal."

The states are also making a claim that the Dreamers' due process rights will be violated. That's because the federal government has personal details that it can use to track down Dreamers. When DACA was created, the government told DACA recipients the data would be not be shared with enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Ferguson called the cancellation of DACA "cruel and unlawful." Gov. Jay Inslee also spoke, and said that Trump cancelled DACA because of other political problems surrounding his presidency.

"He's trying to take it out on dreamers, and that is unacceptable in our state," Inslee said.

On Tuesday morning, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would "rescind" the DACA program, which was created in 2012 through an executive order by President Barack Obama. The Trump administration will stop accepting new DACA applications but will not take away DACA protections until March. The administration says it wants Congress to pass a law granting DACA protections.

Also See: Obama Calls Trump's DACA Decision 'Cruel' And Contrary To Common Sense

With DACA status, people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children are protected from deportation. The program requirements are strict: applicants can't have a criminal record, must not seek public assistance and must prove they pay taxes, among other requirements. About 800,000 in the U.S. and 18,000 in Washington are protected by DACA.

Image via Neal McNamara/Patch