Immigration rights advocates are celebrating a federal judge’s ruling that they say will ensure the government won’t arbitrarily take away the ability of certain immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.
U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled in favor of two motions Monday in Los Angeles that favor three young immigrants and a class of others like them who have had their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status revoked by the Trump administration without notice or an opportunity to respond — despite not having a disqualifying criminal conviction, according to advocates.
The rulings stem from an October, 2017 lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union brought against U.S. government officials on behalf of the Inland Empire-Immigrant Youth Collective and a North Hollywood man who had his permit taken away without explanation, according to the ACLU.
“I think it’s a great decision that should help DACA recipients feel more secure that their status can’t be withdrawn arbitrarily without any process,” said David Hausman, a New York-based attorney for the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights project, on Tuesday.
The rulings allow the case challenging such revocations to move forward as a class-action suit, Hausman said. The judge also granted a nationwide injunction requiring the government to provide notice and an opportunity to respond whenever it terminates DACA status of anyone in this class. In addition, the decision restores status to anyone in that class who had it unfairly revoked since Jan. 20, 2017.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referred inquiries to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had yet to respond to a request as of late Tuesday afternoon.
In his decision, the judge noted that there is “undoubtedly a strong interest” in the effective and efficient enforcement of the country’s immigration laws.
“However, as the Court previously concluded, this interest does not outweigh the ongoing harm that Plaintiffs and class members have experienced or will experience as a result of losing their DACA grants and employment authorization, especially given that the Court is ‘simply requiring Defendants to comply with (Department of Homeland Security’s) written procedures as to the adjudication of DACA applications and the termination of DACA status,'” Gutierrez wrote.
Among the government’s guidelines for the program, DACA recipients are eligible to apply if they have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.
Alondra Naves, an outreach coordinator for the Inland Empire-Immigrant Youth Collective and a DACA recipient, said the ruling is a “glimmer of hope” not just for those whose DACA status was revoked, but for all recipients of the program.
“We feel really optimistic,” said Naves, 22, who attended the hearing. “There’s some hope on the broader level … especially right now when the state of the program is in limbo.”
Inland Empire-Immigrant Youth Collective members said they got involved in the lawsuit because DACA recipients in the Inland area are at risk of having their two-year permits revoked due to a significant Customs and Border Patrol presence in the region.
Monday’s decision came on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to bypass a federal appeals court and intervene in the fate of the DACA program.
Trump announced almost six months ago that he would end the program March 5. Since then, Congress has been trying to come up with legislation to replace the program.
Additionally, two federal judges issued injunctions blocking the president’s move, allowing current DACA recipients to renew their permits but not allowing new applicants into the program. Trump appealed the first court ruling issued, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. For now, the case will wave to work its way through the lower courts before any Supreme Court decision is possible.
Naves said Monday’s ruling is “going to uplift the overall national effort for a permanent (DACA) solution.”
Separately on Tuesday, a split Supreme Court ruled that immigrants the government has detained and is considering deporting aren’t entitled by law to periodic hearings on whether they should be released on bond.
The decision now sends that case back to a federal appeals court to consider other aspects of the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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