Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that the City of Atlanta has joined more than 105 cities, counties and municipalities in filing an amicus brief in the case of DHS v. Regents of California, arguing that the Trump Administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is unlawful and unconstitutional.

“When DACA was instituted by the Obama / Biden Administration, young people had their first opportunity to step out of the shadows to pursue their dreams through hard work and determination,” said Mayor Bottoms. “These young people—DREAMers—finally had the freedom to obtain a college education and give back to their communities as doctors, nurses, teachers, and entrepreneurs and build their own American story.”

“If the Trump Administration succeeds in terminating DACA, young women and men—guilty of only pursuing their aspirations—will be driven back into the shadows, rather than participating and contributing to their communities in an open and just manner,” said Mayor Bottoms. “The City of Atlanta will always stand up for our immigrant community and ensure that the hope of a better life belongs to all who seek it.”

In September 2017, the Trump Administration ended the DACA program, throwing the lives of more than 800,000 young people into uncertainty.

On Friday, October 4, 2019, Atlanta joined more than 105 cities, counties and municipalities in an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court.

In part, the brief reads: Amici agree: our best interests are advanced by educating and empowering our next generation of leaders, not by tearing students out of their schools and uprooting industrious individuals from their communities. For the last seven years, DACA has advanced our best interests, and amici have witnessed hundreds of thousands of young people emerge from the margins to lead productive, exemplary lives. DACA has allowed recipients to pursue higher education, enhancing their economic productivity and enriching their lives and futures.

…Many recipients share similar stories. DACA allowed Nelson Magdaleno, who was brought to the United States from Venezuela as a child, to attend Georgia Tech University, one of the nation’s top engineering schools. Nelson graduated with honors and has been working in Dallas as an engineer at Texas Instruments since his graduation. Herta Llusho arrived in Detroit from Albania at the age of eleven. She worked tirelessly through high school and college, ultimately receiving a Master’s Degree in robotics and automation engineering. Herta now works as a supervising engineer at Ford Motor Company, and regularly volunteers at her church and in her community.