California opposes Trump over bid to cut immigrant support

LOS ANGELES: California, home to about a quarter of all young people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme, joined by Minnesota, Maryland and Maine, filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump’s administration over its decision to end the programme.

The lawsuit comes after 15 states and the District of Columbia filed a similar legal challenge last week to preserve the programme shielding children brought to the US illegally.

California Attorney-General Xavier Becerra said on Monday he decided to file a separate suit because the state and its economy would be especially harmed by the president’s action. “One-in-four of those Daca Dreamers know California as home, and it’s no coincidence that our great state is the sixth largest economy in the world,” Becerra said. “We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country stronger.”

The attorney-general also said in a recent interview that the programme approved by the former US president Barack Obama, was legal and its repeal violated due process rights and would hurt the state’s economy.

The programme was implemented in 2012 to provide a legal status for recipients or renewable two-year term work authorisation. Approximately 800 000 people have participated.

Trump’s administration announced a decision to rescind Daca on September 5. Shortly afterwards, the US Department of Homeland Security said that they would stop accepting new Daca applications, and would review old ones case by case pending requests.