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New York Just Took Bold Action Against Trump’s DACA Decision

New York Just Took Bold Action Against Trump’s DACA Decision

With the news that President Trump is planning to imminently announce the end of the DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) program, the State of New York is has thrown down a gauntlet.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today that they will sue the federal government if Trump goes through with his threatened elimination of the program.

Schneiderman released a statement on the issue that said:

“President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program would be cruel, gratuitous, and devastating to tens of thousands of New Yorkers—and I will sue to protect them.”

“Dreamers are Americans in every way. They played by the rules. They pay their taxes. And they’ve earned the right to stay in the only home they have ever known,”

Governor Cuomo added that any decision to end DACA would be “a cruel action” and ““an assault on the values that built [New York] and this nation.” He also stated:

“We should not and cannot sit on the sidelines and watch the lives of these young people ruined. We have both a legal and moral obligation to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed without discrimination or animus.”

While New York is the first state to threaten to sue the federal government if they discontinue DACA, state Attorneys General from Republican-controlled states like Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia have threatened to sue if the program isn’t ended by tomorrow, which is exactly when President Trump is said to be announcing his decision on killing the program.

It remains to be seen if other more-progressive states with large populations of “Dreamers”, as the people who were brought to this country as under-aged minors by their immigrant parents are commonly referred, will join New York in using their influence to keep the program in place.

While Trump is reportedly leaning towards ending the program with a six month waiting period to allow Congress to pass legislation that addresses the issue, until the official announcement is made, there is still time for him to change his mind and allow it to continue as is. Hopefully, the intestinal fortitude that New York State’s top leaders have demonstrated in standing up for the future of the Dreamers still has time to pay off.

Vinnie Longobardo
Managing Editor
Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.

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