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KPBS Midday Edition

Democratic California Lawmakers Vow To Help DACA Recipients

Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA chant slogans and hold signs while joining a Labor Day rally in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017.
Associated Press
Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA chant slogans and hold signs while joining a Labor Day rally in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017.
Democratic California Lawmakers Vow To Help DACA Recipients
Democratic California Lawmakers Vow To Help DACA Recipients GUEST: Dan Eaton, partner, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek

The top story on KPBS Midday Edition , President Trump has put a proposal to end the DACA program in a tweet last night. He said if Congress does not legalize docket in six months, he will revisit the issue. No one has said they know what that tweet means. All we know is that the president issued a statement yesterday saying the deferred action will be phased out starting next March. Today, 15 states, including the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit to block the dismantling of DACA. Javier says he is preparing legal action against the Trump administration. We believe they have violated the Constitution and federal law. Certainly, we believe wholeheartedly that the Trump administration has ignored the American people. 80% of Americans say that we should continue forward to allow the dreamers to come out of the shadows. Earlier, I spoke with the legal analyst and partner at the Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher. We heard the Attorney General say the state is planning to sue the decision. The AG says basically the same thing. I word that they might pursue legal action based on due process and equal protection standards. What might that argument sounds like in court ? It will be that the DACA recipients came out of the shadows and provided information. It paid nearly $700 in fees for the program and it was the detriment of the insurances that this would be sufficient to protect them from deportation, the deferred action by the Homeland security. Also, there is a question that the eternal journal raised yesterday of whether these people are treated the same way as others under similar circumstances and that could raise protection issues. There is also a question as to whether the decision complied with the administrative procedures act. There is some argument that is made that what the administration did was capricious and a reason explanation has not been made. Coming out of that shadows argument, the government has said that the addresses provided by the DACA recipients will not be used for the purpose of deportation. Does that address the coming out of the shadows argument ? It does come assuming that if you means that is holy and tach. The original and programs specifically said that except under limited circumstances such as the commission of a crime, it will not be used for immigration enforcement purposes but not that the whole program -- the infrastructure is in doubt and so is that. There is question about whether that part of it is still viable or will be viable as of March 2018. Do you think the strategies that you have laid out might be successful in preventing the end of DACA ? They may be successful temporarily in delaying the revision of DOC up but what would be more interesting is the congressional action to see how quickly Congress moves. That will determine the timetable in moving forward to try to get the rescission novae. If Congress provides a more durable foundation for the protection of DACA, the legal action may not be necessary at all. Aren't there lawsuits in the pipeline by DACA recipients against the end of DACA ? There is. There is a lawsuit that is revived in New York by a DACA recipient that has raised the main arguments that I just outlined. They are seeking to amend the complaint before a District Court judge in New York to add certain claims related to challenging the rescission of DOC up but it is not clear the judge will allow them to expand with the current complaint. But yes, you can expect there will be an action by the recipients as well as the state officials who are trying to defend DACA. Even if the lawsuits move forward and are successful perhaps in the first few rounds, eventually, they will probably end up at the Supreme Court and that is not too friendly to DACA ? There is no question this will and in the Supreme Court if litigation goes forward. We realized that in 2016, there is a challenge to DACA out of Texas that went to the Fifth Circuit that put that program with the parent of arrivals on hold. The court split 4-4 as to whether to uphold the Texas order invalidating the expansion of DACA and the establishment of this parents of childhood arrivals. Now, is in full strength. That is with a justice who was appointed with a Donald Trump. There is a question as to well whether he will be friendly to docket than the conservatives who appear to be ready to strike down DACA. What do you make about the tweet revisiting the issue if Congress does not act? Is at the administration going to make the argument that the creation of DACA was an unconstitutional use of authority ? Wouldn't that be unconstitutional to restate? That affect the government to defend the position ? It can be if he tried to reinstate DACA as it is instituted. The Attorney General has made clear that he thinks DACA as it was initially established, not by except board but by executive action, it was unconstitutional. It is hard to imagine the department of justice will defend reinstatement of the program and anything looking like what it does today. I have been speaking with Dan Eaton . Thank you so much. Thank you.

Democrats in the California Legislature slammed President Donald Trump's Tuesday decision to end a program protecting immigrants illegally brought into the country as children.

More than 30 lawmakers vowed to pass bills to help people currently shielded under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, including legislation to limit immigration enforcement on college campuses and to make California a so-called "sanctuary state."

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They spoke out in forceful terms against the president.

"President Trump and his advisers are nothing but cold, compassionless men," Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon said.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the DACA program will be phased out over the next six months. In the meantime, Trump said Congress should determine the fate of the program, which provides work permits for qualifying young immigrants that allow them to stay in the country.

Tne Democratic state senator personally slammed Sessions for the announcement. "It was hard to watch an old white guy who has benefited from white privilege his entire life smugly ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people," said Sen. Connie Leyva of Chino.

RELATED: Here’s How Congress Could Act To Save DACA

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Even several California Republicans said Congress should protect so-called "dreamers."

"If today's decision by the president to abandon DACA doesn't force Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, I don't know what will," Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley said in a statement. "America should not be in the business of deporting children who came to this country through no fault of their own."

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher said she would sit outside of U.S. congressmen's offices with people protected under DACA every day until they hear her message to support continued protections for the young immigrants.

"We're not just going to just sit here and mourn over what this evil, heartless president and his attorney general" have done, the San Diego Democrat told reporters.

RELATED: 5 Questions About DACA Answered

Assemblyman Marc Levine of San Rafael told reporters that Trump's actions are an attempt at "ethnic cleansing" to benefit white supremacists and Nazis.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, also a Democrat, said he's prepared to file a lawsuit against the administration with the backing of Gov. Jerry Brown.