In late June, a group of 10 attorneys general urged President Donald Trump to put an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives deportation relief and provides work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States at a young age. In the letter addressed to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the lawyers threatened to sue the administration if it didn’t put an end to the program by September 5. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed public records requests in the 10 states that are attempting to dismantle DACA. According to BuzzFeed, the ACLU seeks to learn if there’s any collusion between Session and the states to end DACA.
“It would be very telling if there was in fact communication between the attorneys general offices and the Trump administration because it would show there’s a coordinated attack against DACA and that they are trying to subvert Trump, who said DACA recipients should ‘rest easy,’” Lorella Praeli told BuzzFeed News.
Though Trump has previously called some DACA beneficiaries “absolutely incredible kids,” Trump has not made it clear if the program will stay. In June, several outlets announced that DACA would remain in place. But shortly after, the Department of Homeland Security stated that the Trump administration hadn’t definitively decided. “The future of the DACA program continues to be under review with the administration,” a DHS spokesperson said, according to Politico. “The president has remarked on the need to handle the issue with compassion and with heart.”
Nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants currently have DACA, and ending the program would have devastating effects in their lives, as well as to the country as a whole. Praeli notes that though they seek to find any communications between the states and the attorney general’s office, it may not uncover anything. But “the whole point of this is to try to get more information and evidence on DACA from the administration.”