Mayor Eric Garcetti Tuesday was soliciting signatures from Angelenos to support President Barack Obama’s executive actions that would put deportations on hold for some immigrants who came to America without proper authorization.
Obama’s expansion of his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program for people brought to the United States as children, and a new program that applies to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, were set to start earlier this year, but were halted after the actions were challenged in a Texas court.
Garcetti plans to send his Immigrant Affairs chief, Linda Lopez, to New Orleans to hand-deliver the petition to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, ahead of oral arguments starting on Friday.
The petition is at http://www.lamayor.org/daca_works .
Garcetti said “public opinion matters” in court, as evidenced by recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“By raising our voices, we are fulfilling our responsibility as Americans to pursue a more equal and inclusive society,” he said. “We are asking the Fifth Circuit Court to implement these executive actions, which will build a more robust economy and strengthen core American values.”
—Staff and wire reports