Washington AG Ferguson vows to fight Trump over DACA
Sep 4, 2017, 12:23 PM | Updated: 12:25 pm
(AP file photo)
With news that President Donald Trump will end protections for immigrants brought into the country as children, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has vowed to fight the decision.
RELATED: Inslee sends message to Trump – “We are with Dreamers”
“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,” Ferguson said. “We have been working closely with legal teams around the country, and we expect to be joined by other states in this action.”
“As Attorney General, I will use all the legal tools at my disposal to defend the thousands of Dreamers in Washington state,” he said.
DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, allows people who were brought into the country illegally as children to receive renewable work permits and deferred action from deportation. Trump will reportedly defer his own action on the program for six months, allowing Congress to address the issue first.
Ferguson’s potential suit over DACA will not be the first time Washington state has stood against Trump’s actions. Ferguson previously sued the Trump administration over its “Muslim travel ban.”
In July, Ferguson wrote a letter to the Trump administration — along with 19 other attorneys general across the nation — urging the continuation of DACA.