By Howard Packowitz
SPRINGFIELD – More than a dozen attorneys general, including Illinois’ attorney general, are suing the Trump Administration in an effort to save DACA, the program granting legal status to 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
The lawsuit, filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and 14 other attorneys general nationwide, said the decision to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals over a six-month period violates due process rights for so-called Dreamers.
The lawsuit also alleges ending DACA violates the constitution’s equal protection clause because it discriminates against Dreamers of Mexican origin, who make up 78 percent of all DACA recipients.
The suit was filed in New York’s U.S. District Court in New York. It follows a series of nationwide protests to the President’s action. Demonstrators gathered at two locations in Normal on Tuesday, and another demonstration is scheduled to happen during the noon hour on Thursday at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Madigan’s office said Illinois has the nation’s third highest number of initial DACA applications, and over 42,000 have been accepted into the program since its creation by the Obama Administration in 2012.
Madigan cites studies showing Illinois’ economy will lose about $2.3 billion dollars by DACA’s elimination, including almost $55 million in local and state tax revenue.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
