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Hickenlooper says Colorado set to join other states suing to block Trump’s DACA repeal

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September 13, 2017, 11:50 am

Republican Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman last week said the DACA debate belongs in Congress, not in a courtroom, but now Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has contradicted that position by announcing the state will join others suing to keep the program in place.

Gov. John Hickenlooper

Gov. John Hickenlooper

Hickenlooper on Wednesday announced Colorado will join a multi-state lawsuit led by New York, Washington and Massachusetts aimed at blocking the Trump administration’s plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The program, implemented by executive order by President Barack Obama in 2012, protects nearly 800,000 immigrants from deportation, including more than 17,000 in Colorado. DACA recipients  brought to the United States as young children are granted work permits after graduating from high school, staying out trouble with the law and registering with the federal government.

The Trump administration last week announced it would end the program in six months if Congress can’t pass a legislative solution to protect so-called “Dreamers.”

“President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program is outrageous and risks the futures of more than 17,000 Coloradans,” Hickenlooper said in a prepared statement. “Colorado benefits when DREAMers have the opportunity to thrive in our communities and the only country they’ve ever known. These young people should not have to suffer because of our broken immigration system.

“While this lawsuit is no substitute for the sort of comprehensive immigration reform that can only come from Congress, it sends a necessary message that the rule of law and basic notions of fairness still matter in this country. We urge Congress to immediately pass the Dream Act, ensuring that these young people can plan for their future here in the United States. We also repeat our call for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”

Colorado is the 16th state plus Washington D.C. that’s suing to stop the DACA repeal. Coffman, whose estranged husband Mike is now desperately trying to save the program in Congress after years of opposing it, indicated last week that her office would not join other states seeking to protect the DACA program.

“Both Republican and Democrat state attorneys general have drafted lawsuits regarding DACA,” Coffman said in a prepared statement last week. “However, no court fight will provide a lasting solution to the significant policy and people issues surrounding DACA. This debate belongs in Congress and must result in a clear direction forward for this country and those who wish to call it home.”

Coffman did not join 10 other Republican attorney generals who threatened  to sue the Trump administration by Sept. 5 if it did not repeal DACA.

Hickenlooper and AG Coffman have in the past done battle over whether to join federal lawsuits, including Republican challenges to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

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David O. Williams

Managing Editor at RealVail
David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.