DACA Litigation
On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the Trump Administration’s repeal of DACA, ruling in favor of the County of Santa Clara and other plaintiffs. The Supreme Court held that the Trump Administration acted arbitrarily and capriciously in repealing DACA and sent the issue back to the Department of Homeland Security for reconsideration.
The County of Santa Clara and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521 filed a lawsuit in October 2017 challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program. The lawsuit was the first in the nation to be brought jointly by an employer and affected workers in response to the Trump Administration’s cancellation of the DACA program. The County lawfully employs DACA recipients in important roles, and DACA recipients across the nation provide critical services—including on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.
In early 2018, the County and Local 521 – together with individual DACA-recipient plaintiffs, the University of California, the states of California, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota, and the City of San José – obtained a preliminary injunction from the federal district court halting the repeal. The Ninth Circuit affirmed this injunction in November 2018, and the Supreme Court’s June 2020 ruling vacated the repeal altogether. Under these decisions, hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients can continue to live, study, and work without fear and contribute invaluably to our community.
Federal Court Filings
Supreme Court Brief on the Merits
June 2020 Supreme Court Ruling