Six immigrants, brought to the US illegally as minors, and who have since become graduate students, teachers, and entered the legal profession, are suing the Trump administration over its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects them from deportation, it was revealed on Monday.
The lawsuit was filed in a San Francisco federal court and alleges that the closure of the deferred action scheme is a violation of the constitutional rights of the immigrants who lack legal status and gave the US government personal information to be able to join the program. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Jerry Gabriel, says that the consequences of this could be catastrophic for those involved who have organized their entire lives around the promises made by the deferred action scheme.
This lawsuit is the latest in several legal challenges against the decision made by President Donald Trump to close down the deferred action program created in 2012 by President Barack Obama, which has given almost 800,000 undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and the legal right to work in the US.
More than a dozen states are suing the Trump administration. These include California and Maine, with the University of California system also joining in. Gabriel claims the government is ‘pulling the rug out’ from under clients who have made decisions in their careers and personal lives based on the assurances offered by the deferred action program.