Tennessee Attorney General Backs Off Threat Over DACA Protections For Dreamers

Elise Foley
Updated

WASHINGTON ― One of the 10 state attorneys general who threatened President Donald Trump with legal action over protections for young undocumented immigrants rescinded his threat on Friday and is now urging Congress to pass legislation to give so-called Dreamers a path to citizenship.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III (R) wrote in a letter to the state’s Republican senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, that he will no longer challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which gives two-year work permits and deportation protections to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

Prompted in part by a Sept. 5 deadline set by states attorneys general ― including Slatery ― to either terminate DACA or face legal action, Trump is currently weighing whether to end the program. He will announce his decision on Tuesday, according to the White House.

Slatery said that while he believes a legal challenge to DACA will prevail, he won’t join one.

“There is a human element to this ... that is not lost on me and should not be ignored,” he wrote. “Many of the DACA recipients, some of whose records I reviewed, have outstanding accomplishments and laudable ambitions, which if achieved, will be of great benefit and service to our country.”

Slatery went on to urge Corker and Alexander to give “serious consideration” to the Dream Act, a bill that would allow young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to gain legal status and eventually become eligible for citizenship. Slatery specifically referenced the bill, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and said it was “not a comprehensive answer to our immigration policy challenges, but ... would be a very good start.”

“It is my sincere hope that the important issues raised by the States will be resolved by the people’s representatives in the halls of Congress, not in a courtroom,” Slatery wrote.

As Sept. 5 approaches, more Republicans have said Trump should leave DACA in place and seek a legislative fix instead. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Friday that the president should not end DACA and that Republicans were “working on” a bill to address Dreamers.

The Dream Act is only one of the legislative options available. The Recognizing America’s Children, or RAC, Act was introduced in the House as a Dream Act alternative that would also grant Dreamers a path to citizenship, but with more restrictions on eligibility. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is working on similar legislation. There is also a stopgap bill called the Bridge Act that would extend DACA-like protections on a temporary basis.

While Slatery has backed off his threat of legal action, other attorneys general have not. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who led the effort, has remained firm on the ultimatum.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia, as well as Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, joined Paxton and Slatery on the letter threatening legal action.

Immigrant rights advocates plan to protest in some of those states to pressure their attorneys general to similarly back off the legal threat.

Slatery previously declined to file a suit against the government over refugee resettlement after the Tennessee state legislature voted to approve one in 2016. The legislature had to hire an outside firm to initiate the suit instead.

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April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”
At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 
On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”
On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”
At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”
At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”
At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”

July 2016

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September 2016

At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”
At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”
On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.