7 states sue to end DACA

Led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), seven states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

DACA, enacted by former President Barack Obama in 2012, protects certain young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. The states challenging DACA — Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and West Virginia — argue it is unconstitutional, with Paxton saying on Tuesday he has "argued for years that the executive branch lacks the power to unilaterally grant unlawfully present aliens lawful presence and work authorization."

Trump announced last year he wanted to end DACA, calling on Congress to come up with a permanent solution by March. Several federal judges have since blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending the program, including one judge in Washington, D.C., who ruled last week that if the department was unable to come up with a new legal justification for halting DACA within 90 days, the Trump administration would have to start accepting new applications.

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