Seventy cities and counties around the United States joined together to file an amicus brief in support of President Barack Obama’s administrative relief program on immigration. An alliance called Cities United for Immigration Action, spearheaded by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, filed a brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans seeking to allow the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) expansion and the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs to begin. These programs are being temporarily held up by a single Federal judge in South Texas.
De Blasio told reporters on Monday, “Cities are where immigrants live, and cities are where the president’s executive action will be successfully implemented. Our cities are united, and we will fight for the immigration reform this nation needs and deserves—whether in the courtroom, in Congress, or in our communities. Make no mistake about it: our voices will be heard.”
The mayor said that “continuing to delay implementation of the President’s executive action on immigration hurts our economy and puts families at risk.”
Here are the cities and counties that submitted the brief:
- Alexandria, VA
- Allentown, PA
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Baltimore, MD
- Bell, CA
- Boston, MA
- Bridgeport, CT
- Buffalo, NY
- Cambridge, MA
- Central Falls, RI
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Charleston, SC
- Chicago, IL
- Coconino County, AZ
- Columbia, SC
- Columbus, OH
- Dallas County, TX
- Dayton, OH
- Denver, CO
- Dolton, IL
- El Paso County, TX
- Everett, MA
- Gary, IN
- Haledon, NJ
- Hartford, CT
- Highland Park, IL
- Hoboken, NJ
- Holyoke, MA
- Houston, TX
- Jersey City, NJ
- Kansas City, MO
- Little Rock, AR
- Los Angeles, CA
- Los Angeles County, CA
- Lucas County, OH
- Madison, WI
- Milwaukee, WI
- Minneapolis, MN
- Montgomery County, MD
- Newark, NJ
- New York, NY
- Niagara Falls, NY
- North Miami, FL
- Oakland, CA
- Paterson, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Plainfield, NJ
- Portland, OR
- Providence, RI
- Racine, WI
- Ramsey County, MN
- Rochester, NY
- Salt Lake City, UT
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Santa Ana, CA
- Santa Cruz County, AZ
- Santa Fe, NM
- Santa Monica, CA
- Schenectady, NY
- Seattle, WA
- Skokie, IL
- St. Louis, MO
- State College, PA
- Syracuse, NY
- Tacoma, WA
- Tampa, FL
- Travis County, TX
- Washington, D.C.
- West Covina, CA
- Yonkers, NY
- National League of Cities
- U.S. Conference of Mayors
