Cesar Vargas, co-director of the Dream Action Coalition, meets with undocumented U.S. residents on May 20, 2014, in front of the Capitol in Washington, where the coalition joined forces with several congressmen as they lobbied Congress for immigration reform. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — A coalition of nine Republican-led states on Tuesday asked a federal judge in Texas to block a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program rule which gives protections to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as kids.
The states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia — claim the program is “unlawful” and aim to stop DACA recipients from renewing existing work permits and deportation protections. The complaint suggest phasing out the program over two years.
DACA lets undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before their 16th birthday, have attended school or joined the military and have not committed any major crimes — often called “Dreamers” — remain in the country for two-year stays. It was created in 2012 by the Obama administration and protects nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation.
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