New York threatens to sue if Trump ends Obama-era DACA programme

Washington D.C. [USA], Sep 5 (ANI): Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said that his state will sue United States President Donald Trump if he ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.

DACA is a federal government programme created in 2012 under former president Barack Obama to allow people brought to the U.S. illegally as children the temporary right to live, study and work legally in America.

Trump has said that he will announce his decision on scrapping DACA on Tuesday.

At least two states are threatening to sue Trump if he decided to cancel the programme.

"If President Trump follows through on his reported decision to cancel DACA after a six-month delay, the Washington Attorney General's Office will file suit to halt this cruel and illegal policy and defend DACA recipients," The Hill quoted Ferguson as saying.

"We have been working closely with legal teams around the country, and we expect to be joined by other states in this action," he added.

Before Ferguson, New York's governor and attorney general had also said that their state would sue if Trump ends the programme.

Earlier, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Paul Ryan has urged President Donald Trump to hold off on scrapping Obama-era DACA program as he gave a major boost to legislative efforts to preserve protections for young undocumented immigrants.

Some 800,000 people are protected under the programme.

Trump had campaigned against DACA and vowed to end Obama-era program if elected but has so far not made any decision about it. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI