Nessel joins brief against DACA repeal

Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a brief in the lawsuit against the federal repeal of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The brief, filed Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court, argues that allowing DACA program recipients, commonly referred to as Dreamers, to participate in American society generates significant positive impacts for both individual states’ and national economies and cultures.

The revocation could put 669,000 undocumented young people who came to the United States as children at risk for deportation. 

“I joined in filing this brief because the thought of their protections disappearing is unconscionable and would have significant and adverse effects on our economy, but more importantly it would rob so many of them of the only life they know — a life in America,” Nessel said.

The DACA program allows recipients to go to work or school and live without the risk of deportation. 

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House in June voted to give Dreamers a path to citizenship, but the GOP-led U.S. Senate hasn’t acted.

Upton joins Dems to offer ‘dreamers’ path to citizenship

As the Advance previously reported, there are 20,100 immigrants in Michigan who are eligible for protection under the Dream and Promise Act, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress. The Dream and Promise Act would offer a pathway to citizenship through temporary protections, known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).

Eligible immigrants and their households contribute $152.2 million in federal taxes and $77.6 million in state and local taxes each year.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Nov. 12 in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of University of California, et. al.

More than 25 governors or state attorneys general are participating in the case in support of DACA. Nessel joins the attorneys general of Nevada and Wisconsin, along with the governors of Kansas and Montana, in filing this brief.