Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court against the state of California’s attempt to revive the unlawful Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that the Trump administration rescinded. DACA granted lawful presence and work permits to nearly one million unlawfully-present aliens without congressional authorization.
Last Friday, the high court put on hold a lower court ruling that requires the Trump administration to turn over documents related to the president’s decision to end DACA. In its lawsuit against the federal government, California seeks to subpoena documents from Attorney General Paxton’s office through an incorrect view of judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act.
In his brief, Attorney General Paxton told the high court that the state of California’s discovery efforts against the Trump administration over DACA amounts to an “irrelevant fishing expedition.”
“Texans deeply support fishing. We do not support fishing expeditions in lawsuits. California’s insinuation of some nefarious, hidden rationale for winding down DACA is baseless, as is its request for discovery,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Texas has argued for years that the federal Executive Branch lacks the power to unilaterally grant unlawfully-present aliens lawful presence and work authorization as DACA did.”
On June 29, Attorney General Paxton sent a letter – co-signed by nine state attorneys general and one governor – to the Trump administration, giving it until September 5 to phase out DACA or the coalition would challenge the program in court. The brief notes that there is nothing arbitrary or capricious about the federal government responding to that threatened litigation by withdrawing a policy that would have been challenged.
Texas has a proven track record in protecting liberty and taking on abuse of federal power. When former President Obama sought to grant lawful presence to more than four million unlawfully present aliens, Attorney General Paxton led a 26-state coalition all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his unlawful immigration plan, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).
View the amicus brief here. (PDF)
View Attorney General Paxton’s June 29 letter to the Trump administration here. (PDF)