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Deferred Enforced Departure

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a prototypical lawsuit on March 8, 2019 challenging President Trump’s termination of humanitarian protection and relief for immigrants from Liberia. The lawsuit, which is on behalf of African Communities Together (ACT), the UndocuBlack Network, and fifteen affected individuals, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It challenges President Trump’s March 27, 2018 decision to end Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED), a life-saving immigration program. Led by Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Attorney General Maura Healey of Massachusetts, a coalition of attorneys general from California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the District of Columbia are have united to file an amicus brief on behalf of our Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) lawsuit in support of Liberians who are suing President Trump over his proposed termination of DED. Minnesota and Massachusetts are home to some of the largest Liberian communities in the country, with nearly 16,000 residents with Liberian ancestry. Historically, as an immigration designation, DED has been extended by the past four presidents, regardless of political party affiliation, and because DED helps foreign nationals escape armed conflict, civil unrest, natural disasters, and public health crises, ending the program would be unprecedented and detrimental to thousands of Liberians. The plaintiffs are suing Trump on the grounds that ending DED is unconstitutional, and the attorneys general in the coalition argue that their states would be greatly harmed by the termination of DED and the deportation of their Liberian neighbors.

Key Documents:

Amici Curiae Brief

Motion to File Amici

Complaint

Blog Post:Trump’s termination of DED will harm thousands of Liberian families

Press Release:

News Clips:

House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Protecting Dreamers, DED and TPS Recipients