AG Paxton Files For Nationwide Preliminary Injunction To Halt The Unlawful Obama-Era DACA Program

“Activist judges should not stand in the way of the president fulfilling his constitutional duty. Our coalition is confident it will prevail with its lawsuit to end DACA, but in the meantime, the federal government must…”

AUSTIN – Leading a coalition of seven states, Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a motion seeking a nationwide preliminary injunction against the federal government’s unlawful Obama-era Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, also known as DACA. Yesterday, the same multistate coalition filed a lawsuit to end DACA.

In the motion for a preliminary injunction, Attorney General Paxton and his counterparts asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to stop the federal government from issuing or renewing any DACA permits while the coalition’s lawsuit is pending.

Last September, President Trump agreed to phase out DACA by March 5 after Attorney General Paxton led a 10-state coalition requesting he do so or face a court challenge. But federal judges in California, New York and Washington, D.C., blocked the wind down, and the D.C. Circuit Court on April 24 gave the Trump administration 90 days to fully restore DACA.

“It’s a travesty of justice that three unelected federal judges are forcing the Trump administration to leave an unlawful program like DACA in place indefinitely,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Activist judges should not stand in the way of the president fulfilling his constitutional duty. Our coalition is confident it will prevail with its lawsuit to end DACA, but in the meantime, the federal government must be enjoined from issuing or renewing any DACA permits under this unlawful program.”

DACA 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 – even though the Obama administration promised the program would not grant any pathway to citizenship.

Texas has a proven track record in protecting liberty and taking on abuse of federal power. When President Obama sought to grant lawful presence to more than four million unlawfully present aliens, Attorney General Paxton led a multi-state coalition all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his unlawful immigration plan, known as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). DAPA and DACA rest on the same flawed legal footing.

Joining Texas in the motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction against DACA are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.

View a copy of the motion seeking a nationwide preliminary injunction here: https://bit.ly/2KumAgE.