New York to file lawsuit protecting DACA beneficiaries

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to end protections and benefits for children brought into the United States illegally faces a legal challenge from New York and other states.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman will announce a multistate lawsuit to protect beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at a news conference on Wednesday, his office said in a statement.

Trump’s decision on Tuesday to end the five-year-old program instituted by former President Barack Obama plunged the “Dreamers” into uncertainty and drew criticism from business and religious leaders, mayors, governors, Democratic lawmakers, unions and civil liberties advocates.

The Republican president delayed the end of the program until March 5 and gave a gridlocked Congress six months to decide the fate of almost 800,000 young people.

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Schneiderman and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday promised to challenge any decision by Trump to end DACA. Cuomo said the move would affect roughly 42,000 New Yorkers, upending their lives and ripping families apart.

“Ending this policy represents an assault on the values that built this state and this nation,” Cuomo said in a statement.

DACA, which provides work permits and protection from deportation, primarily benefits Hispanics. Most people covered by the program are in their 20s.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Doina Chiacu; Editing by W Simon)