FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2018
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Santa Fe, NM – Today, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas applauded Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis’ decision to issue an injunction that orders the Trump Administration to continue accepting renewal applications under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This injunction was issued as part of the ongoing litigation against the administration’s decision to rescind the program by Attorney General Balderas and 15 other state attorneys general.
“I am very pleased that Judge Garaufis agreed with our argument that President Trump has illegally removed these protections for our DACA recipients and has ordered him to continue the program,” said Attorney General Balderas. “While yesterday’s ruling is a great step in the right direction, we must continue fighting for the security of our doctors, teachers, law enforcement, and military personnel.”
In his order, Judge Garaufis’ agreed with the argument by the attorneys general that the Trump Administration’s decision to end DACA was arbitrary and capricious, and he issued a nationwide injunction ordering the administration to keep the program as it was prior to the September 5, 2017 repeal. The judge also noted the extreme hardship that the repeal would have on hundreds of thousands of families and the millions of dollars that would be lost in our economy.
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