Governor Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron M. Frey issued the following statements applauding today’s ruling by the United States Supreme Court (PDF) rebuffing the Trump Administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“This is a victory for the young people in Maine and across the country who are attending our schools and volunteering in our communities, who are serving in our military and defending our country, who are working and paying taxes – those who have never known any place other than America as their home,” said Governor Mills. “The Supreme Court made the right decision today, a decision that adheres to the founding principles of our nation and that recognizes the vast contributions of the many people, including those in Maine, that DACA protects.”
“This ruling is both just and humane. It protects individuals who were brought to our country as children, many of whom have gone on to contribute in vital ways to our society through work, community involvement, and even service in the military,” said Attorney General Frey. “We are a nation of immigrants which has long benefitted from diversity of beliefs, backgrounds, and culture. The DACA program has had a positive effect on our local economy, local businesses, local schools, state institutions of higher learning, and our communities in Maine. I was proud to stand with a number of my fellow Attorneys General in advocating for the dreamers and am delighted with this victory.”
In September 2017, Maine, under the leadership of then-Attorney General Janet Mills, joined with California, Maryland and Minnesota in filing suit against the Trump Administration’s rescission of DACA, alleging that the loss of their residents’ DACA status and work authorizations will injure their public colleges and universities, upset the states’ workforces, disrupt the states’ statutory and regulatory interests, cause harm to hundreds of thousands of their residents, damage their economies, and hurt companies based in these states.