DACA

BROWNSVILLE, TX – Last week, MALDEF and pro bono counsel, O’Melveny & Myers and Frank Costilla, filed a motion to intervene on behalf of three individuals who would qualify for relief under the administrative action on immigration announced last year by President Barack Obama. Texas and other states and state officials have asked a federal court for an immediate injunction to stop administration officials from moving forward with the actions announced by the President. The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division.

PHOENIX, AZ – Late yesterday, a federal district court judge in Arizona permanently blocked a ban on drivers’ licenses for immigrant youth ordered by Governor Jan Brewer. The ruling is the latest in a series of victories for DREAMers in Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups challenging the state’s denial of licenses to immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under a federal program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Immigrant youth will be allowed to receive driver’s licenses in Arizona while the Supreme Court considers whether or not to hear an appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling in Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, a lawsuit challenging the state’s denial of licenses to immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under a federal program.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a request to reconsider its earlier ruling that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s denial of driver’s licenses to certain young immigrants is unconstitutional. The move validates a decision issued in July, ordering the state to stop depriving those young immigrants who came to this country as children from obtaining a driver’s license. This group of young people—who have permission from the federal government to live and work in the U.S.—are seriously impaired by their inability to get drivers’ licenses, the court stated.

NEW YORK CITY, NY – On the cusp of a critical presidential announcement of broadened affirmative relief for immigrants currently unprotected by law, an important decision emanated from federal court last week. Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the company’s policy of denying employment to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. MALDEF and co-counsel Outten & Golden LLP represent the plaintiff, Ruben Juarez, who was unlawfully rejected for a position at Northwestern Mutual under a policy that denies employment to all persons who are not either U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF, released the following statement today after President Obama announced his plan for executive action on immigration.

LINCOLN, NE-Today, MALDEF’s Midwest Regional Office in Chicago filed a motion for preliminary injunction in a U.S. District Court in Nebraska. MALDEF asked the court to stop the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from enforcing the policy and practice of denying driver’s licenses to immigrant youth whom the federal government has authorized to remain in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program. The injunction would remain in place during the pendency of a lawsuit MALDEF filed in Lincoln, Nebraska, on May 31 of this year, challenging the DMV’s policy and practice.

Files for Intervention to Offer Statutory Defense to Court