Illinois AG joins appeal asking court to keep DACA program running

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a multistate coalition of 23 attorneys general in a court filing aimed at keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in place.

The coalition filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. They are asking the appeals court to overturn a lower court decision that said DACA is not authorized by law.

DACA, created in 2012, has allowed many people who arrived in the U.S. as children to live, study, and work while reducing the risk of being separated from their families and communities. The Illinois AG’s statement emphasizes that DACA recipients—often called “Dreamers”—have contributed to schools, workplaces, and local communities.

The brief also argues that even if the court finds parts of DACA unlawful, the lower court should have considered “severing” only the problematic portions rather than vacating the entire program. The coalition further says the lower court did not give the Department of Homeland Security and Congress enough time to carry out any needed remedial steps.

This appeal is part of an ongoing lawsuit led by Texas and joined by eight other states seeking to end DACA. The 5th Circuit previously upheld a finding that the original 2012 executive action was unlawful, but sent the case back for further review of a later regulation related to DACA; the district court again ruled against the program in September 2023. For the most accurate details, readers should review the official filing and the court docket referenced by the coalition.