Fearing President Donald Trump will soon end the program that protects nearly 800,000 illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children, Democrats and interest groups are vowing to fight to keep it, The Hill reports.
Conservative state attorneys general are threatening court action if Trump doesn't soon rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, first implemented by President Barack Obama in 2012.
Hispanic leaders are vowing a fight, The Hill reports, saying they'll spend September, which is Hispanic Heritage Month, with "voter registration drives, legal defense strategies and street demonstrations in lieu of black tie parties."
"We're not in a mood to celebrate," Héctor Sánchez, president of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, told The Hill. "Instead, this will be a month of action."
Trump's pardon on Friday of former Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is seen by these activists as further proof the current White House is a threat to those they represent.
"There is a common thread that runs through Arpaio's pardon, the threat against DACA, the Texas racial profiling law and ambivalent statements about white supremacists," Clarissa Martínez de Castro, deputy vice president of research at UnidosUS, told The Hill.
Mexican American Legal Defense Fund President Thomas A. Saenz, said his group will go after those, like Arpaio, that they see as illegally targeting people because of their immigration status.
Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt for his department's actions. The court ruled he singled out suspects because of their race. Arpaio argues he was simply trying to help enforce U.S. immigration policy.
"We are prepared to challenge legally and politically any agency that would engage in similar conduct," Saenz said.
Meanwhile, Democrat attorneys general are planning to defend DACA if the Trump Justice Department refuses to do so.
"We believe that we're on strong footing when it comes to the legality of the DACA program," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said. "We're exploring every option and we'll use every tool that we have at our disposal.
Democrats also are aiming to court public support for the so-called "Dreamers" in the 2018 midterm elections.
"To repeal the DACA program would be a morally repugnant betrayal of everything that Ronald Reagan's shining city stands for," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said.