On June 15, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the November 20, 2014 memorandum creating the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and the DACA-plus programs [ see article ]. That decision was prompted in part by Texas securing injunctions in Federal court against the implementation of DAPA and DACA-plus [ see opinion blog] and then having the injunction issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit left in place by an equally-divided Supreme Court [ see opinion blog ].
On June 29, 2017, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. You may read the full letter here [ PDF version ]. In the letter, Attorney General Paxton, joined by the governors and attorney generals of 10 other states, threatened to sue the Federal government if it does not announce steps to rescind the DACA program. In this article, we will examine Attorney General Paxton's letter and what it may mean going forward.