New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released a series of videos featuring New York recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“Dreamers are New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said. “Dreamers play by the rules, work hard and pay taxes. For most, America is the only home they have ever known. They deserve to stay here, and if Washington refuses to protect them, we will keep fighting for them in court.”
Last year, President Donald Trump said he would rescind DACA, an Obama-era program that protects immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Schneiderman is among 17 attorneys general who are in a multistate lawsuit to protect DACA grantees. Last month, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction in the case and the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump administration”™s petition to bypass the usual judicial process. The U.S. Senate has failed to pass any legislation that would remedy the issue.
Schneiderman”™s announcement comes the day after the originally scheduled phase-out date of the program.
“Because of DACA, I was able to legally get a job at one of Trump”™s hotels, so I know from personal experience that it is because of immigrants like myself that cities like New York even run,” said DACA recipient Ricardo Aca in one of the videos.
The videos released today can be found on YouTube