LOS ANGELES – The United States Supreme Court decided today to let stand a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that barred Arizona from denying driver’s licenses to people protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) was among a coalition of civil rights organizations that challenged the state after then-Gov. Jan Brewer signed an executive order in 2012 mandating that DACA recipients be denied driver's licenses. Brewer's policy was eventually struck down by both a federal district court and the Court of Appeals. The High Court announced today that it would not hear Arizona’s appeal of the 9th Circuit decision.
Please attribute the following statement to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF:
“This lawsuit, which began when Jan Brewer decided to target immigrant youth because of her disagreement with President Obama on immigration policy, has now come to an appropriate ending. Discriminatory or retaliatory targeting of groups of individuals, whether the targeting emanates from state or federal government, is never an appropriate response to policy disagreement.”