ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL FILES BRIEF IN U.S. SUPREME COURT TO PRESERVE DACA AND PROTECT DREAMERS

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with a coalition of 15 states, today announced the filing of a brief in the United States Supreme Court in the coalition’s ongoing lawsuit to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The lawsuit argues that the federal government’s attempt to revoke DACA was based on a faulty legal analysis and harmed state residents, institutions, and economies.

“Rescinding DACA is contrary to our values as a nation, unlawfully targets young people who were brought to this country to have a better life, and would deprive our communities of the important contributions that Dreamers make,” Raoul said. “I am committed to opposing any efforts by the federal government to undermine DACA, as well as the administration’s unconstitutional and discriminatory actions that continue to cause uncertainty and fear in immigrant communities in Illinois and throughout the country.”

In September 2017, the coalition filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York challenging the federal government’s decision to terminate DACA. In February 2018, the district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that halted DACA’s termination. In their latest brief, Raoul and his fellow attorneys general argue that the administration made critical errors in trying to justify the elimination of DACA. These include advancing fundamental factual mistakes, failing to make any inquiry into how DACA actually works, omitting analysis of factors essential to any rational analysis of DACA, and opting not to explain the administration’s abrupt change in position on DACA’s legality. The Supreme Court will hear the case in November, together with parallel challenges to DACA’s termination filed in federal courts in California and the District of Columbia.

Since 2012, DACA has allowed approximately 800,000 young people who came to this country as children and lack legal status to live, study, and work in the U.S. without fear of arrest or deportation. Illinois is home to more than 35,000 DACA recipients, the third highest total of any state, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services.

As part of its work to support immigrant communities throughout the state, the Attorney General’s office offers “Know Your Rights” resources for immigrants and immigration advocates free of charge on Attorney General Raoul’s website. Information is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Serbian and Urdu, along with a mobile version and printable pocket-sized guide.

The Attorney General’s office does not request information about immigration or citizenship status from anyone who contacts the office or files a complaint. Attorney General Raoul encourages individuals to contact his office to report instances of discrimination or harassment by calling his Civil Rights Hotline at 1-877-581-3692.

Joining Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the governor of Colorado.

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