AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“As of August 21, 2017, DACA led to U.S. citizenship for 1,056 aliens and provided a pathway to citizenship for 39,514 aliens – even though the Obama administration promised the program would not grant any pathway to citizenship,” Paxton's press release said.

Last week, a federal judge overruled President Trump’s efforts to end the popular DACA program, saying the government has to accept new applications.

The D.C. based district judge is giving the Department of Homeland Security 90 days to “better explain its view” that DACA is unlawful. After that, the judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security must accept new as well as renewal DACA applications.

“Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” 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. Left intact, DACA sets a dangerous precedent by giving the executive branch sweeping authority to ignore the laws enacted by Congress and change our nation’s immigration laws to suit a president’s own policy preferences.”

In the lawsuit, Paxton and the seven-state coalition request the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to declare DACA unlawful and stop the federal government from issuing or renewing any DACA permits in the future.

The lawsuit does not ask the federal government to remove any "alien currently covered by DACA," or to rescind DACA permits that have already been issued.

Joining Texas in the DACA lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.

View a copy of the lawsuit here.

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