Thread: Connelly: WA. State will sue to block 'cruel', 'illegal' end to DACA

Connelly: State will sue to block 'cruel', 'illegal' end to DACA

By Joel Connelly, SeattlePI
Published 1:26 pm, Monday, September 4, 2017

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Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson: "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 ... more


The decision by President Trump to end a program that protects young undocumented immigrants, who arrived in America as children, has set off a flurry of resistance in this Washington, and signs of Republican willingness to relent.

The developments, ahead of Tuesday's announcement by Trump, included:

--Threat to sue: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the state will sue to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program President Obama created by executive order. Nine conservative Republican AGs are promising legal action against DACA.

"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," said Ferguson.

Approximately 19,000 young Americans in this state are covered by DACA.

RELATED: Connelly: 300 business leaders to Trump -- let Dreamers stay, work in America

--Legislation needed: Joining a national group of universities to which the UW belongs, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce urged immediate pressure on Congress to use the legislative process to enact DACA provisions into law.

"Please start NOW to contact your representatives in Congress to IMMEDIATELY start working on legislation that would codify DACA and its protections into law," Cauce wrote on her Facebook page.

Since begun by Obama in 2012, DACA has freed 780,000 young people from the threat of deportation, and allowed them to go to college and work and join the National Guard, where some have participated in the Hurricane Harvey rescue effort.

--Republicans and Dreamers: Leading Republican voices in Congress have called for passage of the so-called DREAM Act, which would allow the young people to stay. House Speaker Paul Ryan has called for legislative action. Conservative Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, want passage.

But Republicans have controlled the U.S. House of Representatives for more than six years, and done nothing. GOP rulers refused to even allow a vote on a comprehensive immigration reform package that passed the U.S. Senate in 2013 on a bipartisan 68-31 vote.

"Paul Ryan has not shown courage on a number of issues," said U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who worked on the 2013 Senate bill as an immigration activist.

RELATED: Jayapal to Rep. King: I am 'somebody else's baby' and a proud American

"The one thing Trump ending DACA does for us is put the focus back on Republicans in Congress," she added. "Republicans refused to pass the DREAM Act before. Now, with nearly 800,000 people affected, with CEO's speaking out, there is recognition this should have been done."

One small sign of change in this state: U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., a reliable Republican backbencher, has come out with a strong message -- protect the Dreamers.

"Any decision to end the DACA program would not merely be a disappointment, but a major setback for the young people I know who were brought here as children through no fault of their own," said Newhouse.

"I have listened to their stories, and these young people are struggling as their futures here seem in doubt, I will continue to work to protect Dreamers. It is my priority in Congress to give these people certainty."

Newhouse and nine other Republican House members -- including Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash. -- signed onto a letter urging legislative action to provide certainty to the young Dreamers.

Washington state broke a logjam on its own DREAM Act three years ago, and offers a model for Congress.

The Democratic controlled State House of Representatives passed, on a bipartisan vote, legislation to make undocumented students eligible for said education financial aid. The students had to be high school grads, lived in the state for three years, and intend to be permanent residents.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protects more than 800.0000 undocumented, also known as 'dreamers,' who were brought to the United States as children. The DACA was launched in 2012 by Barack Obama. One of the most valuable benefits for the people who are granted DACA is the ability to obtain a work permit. Removing DACA recipients from the workforce will cost the U.S. GDP $460 billion over 10 years. It is still unknown what will happen to DACA recipients if Donald Trump decides to terminate the program.

Media: Wibbitz

The state DREAM Act was held up for nearly a year in the Republican-run Senate. Then, it suddenly moved. Seattle High Ed Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, went from blocking the bill to moving it. It was given a new name, the Hope Act.

What happened?
Attending an SEIU Labor Day forum with unorganized workers on Monday, House Speaker Frank Chopp chuckled, and credited the Dreamers rather than the lawmakers.

"The effective tactic turned out to be letting the kids come down (to Olympia) and tell their stories," said Chopp. Many were the first in their family to go to college, poster children for the American dream.
An influential Yakima Valley Republican, Rep. Brude Chandler, R-Granger, provided essential support.

The Republicans in Congress, making supportive statements about Dreamers, must now walk their talk.

House Speaker Ryan has much on his plate, from raising the federal debt ceiling, to funding the government by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown, Hurricane Harvey relief, and the tax reform plan he was touting at Boeing two weeks ago.

He will have to control such far right legislators as Rep. Steve King, R-Idaho, who tweeted: "Ending DACA now gives chance 2 restore Rule of Law. Delaying so R leadership can push Amnesty is Republican suicide."

So is sticking a thumb in the eye of Latino voters, and adding to a n aura of white nationalism now hanging over the nation's capital.
Rep. Ilena Ross-Lehtinen, R-Floria, an Hispanic Republican, tweeted:

"After teasing #Dreamers for months with talk of his 'great heart,' @POTUS slams door on them. Some 'heart'"

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/polit...l-12172068.php

Cuomo: N.Y. State will sue feds over ‘Dreamers’ protections ending

I believe such lawsuits would be considered frivolous and without merit.

10 State Coalition Threatens Lawsuit if Trump Doesn't End DACA

LOL!! You can't sue on a program that expired by its own terms.

DACA participant challenges Trump move in court

15 states, DC sue Trump administration over ending DACA

These people are all a bunch of nut-bags!

They are supposed to be representing the American people, not illegal aliens.

The Dems are desperate to keep their only voting block and do what ever it takes
to hold on to their power.