State of Texas Files Lawsuit Challenging DACA Program

AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – Leading a coalition of seven states, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government to end the unconstitutional Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which granted lawful presence and work permits to nearly one million unlawfully present aliens without congressional approval.

As of August 21, 2017, DACA led to U.S. citizenship for 1,056 aliens and provided a pathway to citizenship for 39,514 aliens. President Trump last September agreed to phase out DACA by March 5 after Attorney General Paxton led a 10-state coalition requesting that the Trump administration do so or face a court challenge. But earlier this year, a ruling by a U.S. District Court in California blocked the federal government from cancelling DACA, forcing the administration to leave it in place indefinitely as legal challenges drag on. Similar decisions were subsequently issued by district courts in New York and Washington, D.C., and the D.C. Circuit Court ruled on April 24 that the Trump administration had 90 days to fully restore DACA.

“Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Texas has argued for years that the federal executive branch lacks the power to unilaterally grant unlawfully present aliens lawful presence and work authorization. Left intact, DACA sets a dangerous precedent by giving the executive branch sweeping authority to ignore the laws enacted by Congress and change our nation’s immigration laws to suit a president’s own policy preferences.”

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Paxton and the multi-state coalition urge the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to declare DACA unlawful and stop the federal government from issuing or renewing any DACA permits in the future. The lawsuit does not ask the federal government to remove any alien currently covered by DACA, nor does it ask the Trump administration to rescind DACA permits that have already been issued.

Joining Texas in the DACA lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.