CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and a coalition of 13 states are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an immediate review of a lower court decision and ultimately defend President Donald J. Trump’s ability to unwind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known to most as DACA.
The states contend a president can enforce existing immigration law, but not create it. As such, they argue Trump’s move to unwind DACA would reverse an unlawful policy set forth when the Obama administration bypassed Congress to grant lawful presence and work eligibility to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
"I hold firm to my stance that DACA is unconstitutional,” Morrisey said in a statement. “In West Virginia, we will always defend the rule of law and our Constitution. DACA is a remnant of the Obama administration's unlawful, unilateral action."
The states argue a federal district judge was unjustified in blocking Trump’s ability to wind down DACA, an act nearly identical to two other programs already deemed unlawful.
The coalition’s brief, filed Jan. 25, urges the Supreme Court accept an immediate review, saying timing is of the essence as the lower court’s injunction impairs Trump’s objective to limit litigation challenging an already unlawful policy.
The states also support winding down DACA in that federal law permits the president to unwind controversial policy that is not required by law and that he finds unconstitutional.
West Virginia joined the Texas-led brief with the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota and the governors of Maine and Mississippi.