Filed Date: Sept. 18, 2017
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
This suit, brought on September 18, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenged President Trump's revocation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The plaintiffs were DACA recipients who sought to enjoin the government from ending the program. Not only did the plaintiffs stand to lose benefits and security they have relied upon, but the plaintiffs argued that the communities in which they reside also stand to lose valuable contributing members. The complaint argued that the DACA program made promises to its recipients upon which they have relied for their entire lives in America. As a result, the plaintiffs contended that revoking DACA violated Fifth Amendment due process and equal protection, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. They sought equitable estoppel, injunctive relief, and declaratory judgment.
In 2012, the Obama administration created the DACA program by DHS policy statements. The program offered work permits and temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who had been brought to the United States as children. As of 2017, there were an estimated 800,000 DACA recipients. On September 5, 2017, President Trump announced that he was ending the program in March unless Congress acted within the next six months. As the complaint highlighted, the Obama administration in promoting DACA made key promises to immigrants: that any information they provided in the application process would not be used for immigration enforcement, and that barring criminal activity or fraud in their DACA applications, DACA recipients would be able to renew their status and keep their benefits.
The plaintiffs, represented by public and private counsel, were six individuals who were brought into the U.S. at young ages and lived, worked, and studied in California. One was a practicing attorney, one was a special education teacher, and four others attended graduate school. The plaintiffs argued that they each relied on the government's promises. They also argued that the revocation of DACA was fueled by President Trump's anti-Mexican racial animus evidenced in his past statements and actions. Moreover, the plaintiffs stated that the government took "affirmative steps to reduce the protections applicable to information provided in connection with the DACA program" as evidenced by a January 2017 Executive Order mandating that all agencies “ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information.”
The case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. On Sept. 20, the case was marked as related to two other cases: State of California v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 17-cv-05235, and Regents of University of California v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 17-cv-05211. The next day, the case was reassigned to Judge William Alsup. On Oct. 16, County of Santa Clara v. Trump and City of San Jose v. Trump, were added as related cases. All are in the Clearinghouse.
On Oct. 6, 2017, in a related challenge led by Regents of University of California before this judge, the government filed the administrative record, available here, which included a series of government documents pertaining to DACA from its inception to the decision to rescind it. On Oct. 17, after the University in the related case moved to compel the defendants to complete the administrative record, the court ordered them to do so in all related cases, including this one. The court found that the defendants did not produce all documents leading to the rescission, specifically related documents that Acting Secretary Duke did not directly review. The defendants moved to stay further proceedings at this court on Oct. 18 in light of their intent to appeal this ruling to the Ninth Circuit. The court denied staying proceedings on Oct. 19, and the defendants appealed the next day by filing a petition for a writ of mandamus to the district court and emergency motion for stay. On Oct. 23, 2017, the district court replied to the Ninth Circuit's invitation to answer the government's petition stating it would not stay proceedings in light of the narrow window of time until the DACA ends on March 5, 2018.
On Nov. 16, 2017, the Ninth Circuit denied defendants' motion for a writ of mandamus and vacated the stay of discovery and record expansion that had been entered, and the District Court immediately ordered the federal government to file an augmented administrative record by Nov 22, 2017. On Nov. 17, 2017, the federal government filed an emergency motion noting that it intended to file an application for mandamus with the Supreme Court no later than Nov. 20, 2017 and requesting that the Ninth Circuit stay its order pending the Supreme Court's resolution of the forthcoming petition. On Nov. 21, 2017, the Ninth Circuit dismissed the federal government's motion, noting that jurisdiction currently lies with the District Court and instructing the federal government that further relief must be sought in a new petition for mandamus.
Meanwhile, in the district court, Judge Alsup on Nov. 20, 2017, agreed to stay all discovery until Dec. 22, 2017 at which point the augmented administrative record will be due.
On Dec. 1, 2017, the government filed notice that they appealed the Ninth's Circuit denial of mandamus relief and applied for a stay to the Supreme Court. On Dec. 21 in a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit's denial and remanded the case, arguing that the district court should have stayed implementation of the Oct. 17 order compelling the government to complete the administrative record. The Supreme Court stated that the lower court should have "first resolved the Government’s threshold arguments (that the Acting Secretary’s determination to rescind DACA is unreviewable because it is “committed to agency discretion,” 5 U. S. C. §701(a)(2), and that the Immigration and Nationality Act deprives the District Court of jurisdiction). Either of those arguments, if accepted, likely would eliminate the need for the District Court to examine a complete administrative record." 138 S. Ct. 443. The same day, the district court stayed the order compelling the government to complete the administrative record.
On Jan. 9, 2018, the court denied the government's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction from Nov. 1, 2017 and provided provisional relief to the plaintiffs. The order indicated the court would separately dismiss the government's motion to dismiss under for failure to state a claim. The court ordered a nationwide preliminary injunction, ordering that DACA remain in effect on the same terms and conditions that existed prior to the recession. However, the government did not need to process new applications from individuals who never before received deferred action. The court then granted in part and denied in part the government's motion to dismiss on Jan. 12, 2018 dismissing the plaintiffs' Regulatory Flexibility Act and equitable estoppel claims as well the individual plaintiffs' declaratory relief claims. The court sustained the plaintiffs' APA, due process, and equal protection claims (with a few exceptions from the various complaints of the related cases).
The government appealed to the Ninth Circuit on Jan. 16, 2018. The government also sought certiorari from the Supreme Court on Jan. 18 while the Ninth Circuit appeal was pending, arguing that the Supreme Court's immediate review was warranted because of how long the appeal would take in the Ninth Circuit and how time sensitive the issue was. The Supreme Court denied cert without prejudice on Feb. 26, 2018, indicating the justices assume "that the Court of Appeals will proceed expeditiously to decide this case."
The related cases were consolidated in the Ninth Circuit for the purposes of appeal. In February and March 2018, the parties and amici filed their briefs, which can be found here.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's rulings on Nov. 8, 2018. The panel held that the government's decision to rescind DACA was reviewable because it was based on a belief that law foreclosed any alternative because the agency lacked authority rather than on exercise of discretion. The panel further concluded the decision was reviewable because the government based rescission only on the belief that DACA went beyond DHS' authority and so the APA's bar did not apply, and the decision did not fall within the three discrete occasions when the INA bars judicial review of DHS decisions. As to the merits of preliminary injunction, the panel held that "DACA was a permissible exercise of executive discretion" and the government's belief that DACA was illegal was wrong. 2018 WL 5833232. Thus, the panel concluded the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits in showing that the rescission was arbitrary and capricious under the APA. The panel also held that a nationwide injunction was appropriate because it "promotes uniformity in immigration enforcement, and is necessary to provide the plaintiffs here with complete redress." Id.
The defendants petitioned the Supreme Court of the U.S. for a writ of certiorari on Nov. 5.
On June 28, 2019, the Supreme Court granted writs of certiorari in three DACA cases: Regents of University of California v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen, and NAACP v. Trump, all of which were pending before different circuit courts of appeal. The Court consolidated the three cases (No. 18-587).
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on November 12, 2019, on the issues of whether DHS's decision to wind down the DACA policy is judicially reviewable and whether DHS’s decision to rescind DACA is lawful. On June 18, 2020, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts (joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor), the Court held that the DACA rescission was subject to judicial review under the APA, that the DHS secretary had offered insufficient justification to rescind the program, and that the rescission was unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious in violation fo the APA. 140 S. Ct. 1891.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, in another case challenging the DACA recession, Casa De Maryland v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Fourth Circuit issued a mandate to reinstate DACA and set aside the recession memo on a nationwide basis on June 30, 2020. On July 17, 2020, the District Court of Maryland ordered DHS to reinstate DACA as it existed before the issuance of the recession memo and ordered DHS to resume accepting initial DACA applications.
However, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf instead issued a memorandum entitled "Reconsideration of the June 15, 2012 Memorandum Entitled 'Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children" on July 28, 2020 ("Wolf Memorandum"). In this memo, Acting Secretary Wolf stated that he would reconsider DACA's future in light of the Supreme Court's decision. In the interim, the memo instructed USCIS to reject all initial requests for DACA, to only grant advance parole to current DACA beneficiaries in exceptional circumstances, and grant DACA renewals for only one-year, rather than two-year, periods. Later in August, Deputy Director for Policy for USCIS Joseph Edlow issued a memorandum implementing the Wolf Memorandum.
On August 4, 2020, the Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court for further action consistent with the opinion of the Supreme Court.
In response to the Wolf Memorandum, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on November 3, 2020. In the amended complaint, the plaintiffs substituted some of the defendants to reflect new individuals occupying the relevant roles and to add additional responsible officials, including Deputy Director for Policy Edlow. The amended complaint argued that Acting Secretary Wolf's actions were invalid under the Federal Vacancies Reform Action, Homeland Security Act, and the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because he lacked proper authority to issue the Wolf Memorandum. In addition, the plaintiffs argued that the Wolf Memorandum and Edlow Memorandum violated the APA because Wolf and Edlow acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner. The plaintiffs sought declaratory relief and an injunction preventing the defendants from altering or limiting DACA program and vacating the Wolf and Edlow Memoranda.
Before any additional activity on the amended complaint in this case, on December 4, the court in another case challenging the Wolf Memorandum,Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen and State of New York v. Trump, ordered DHS to fully reinstate DACA as it existed prior to the attempted recession in September 2017 after it found that Acting Secretary Wolf was not lawfully serving as Acting Secretary. The order required DHS to accept initial DACA applications, accept advance parole applications, and grant DACA renewals for two-years. On December 7, 2020 USCIS updated their website and indicated that effective that day, USCIS would accept initial applications, extend one-year DACA renewals to two-years, and accept applications for advance parole.
Then, in early 2021, President Biden took office. On the day of his inauguration (January 20, 2021), President Biden signed a memorandum directing DHS and the Attorney General “to preserve and fortify DACA.” In light of potential additional agency action to implement the memorandum, the parties filed a joint stipulation to stay further proceedings and vacate pending deadlines on March 22, 2021. They agreed to provide the court with status updates every 60 days. The first is due May 24, 2021. This case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Virginia Weeks (11/8/2018)
Sam Kulhanek (2/14/2020)
Aaron Gurley (11/21/2019)
Emily Kempa (5/14/2021)
State of New York v. Trump, Eastern District of New York (2017)
State of California v. Department of Homeland Security, Northern District of California (2017)
City of San Jose v. Trump, Northern District of California (2017)
County of Santa Clara v. Trump, Northern District of California (2017)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6153699/parties/garcia-v-united-states-of-america/
Alito, Samuel A. Jr. (District of Columbia)
Alsup, William Haskell (California)
Almadani, Monica Marie-Ramirez (California)
Alger, Maureen P. (California)
Axelrod, Julie Beth (California)
Alito, Samuel A. Jr. (District of Columbia)
Alsup, William Haskell (California)
Gorsuch, Neil M. (District of Columbia)
Nguyen, Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc (California)
Owens, John Byron (California)
Roberts, John Glover Jr. (District of Columbia)
Sotomayor, Sonia (District of Columbia)
Almadani, Monica Marie-Ramirez (California)
Bahadue, Suria M (District of Columbia)
Berengaut, Alexander A. (California)
Berger, Justin Theodore (California)
Boutrous, Theodore J. Jr. (California)
Chahal, Harpreet Kaur (California)
Chemerinsky, Erwin (California)
Davidson, Jeffrey Michael (California)
Dettmer, Ethan D. (California)
Douglas, Erika M. (California)
Friedlander, Julia M.C. (California)
Gabriel, Jesse S. (California)
Hamill, Norman J. (California)
Hansen, Greta Suzanne (California)
Kavanaugh, Brett M. (District of Columbia)
Kieschnick, Hannah (California)
Leyton, Stacey M. (California)
London, Judith Maura (California)
Marquart, Katherine Michelle (New York)
Mincer, Jonathan Yakov (California)
Nyquist, Ashley Ciara (California)
Passe, Julianna F. (Minnesota)
Patwardhan, Kimberly L (Maine)
Quinones, Marcelo (California)
Robinson, Charles Furlonge (California)
Rodgers, Megan Louise (California)
Rodriquez, Matthew (California)
Romero, Luis Cortes (California)
Rosenbaum, Mark Dale (California)
Rozen, Matthew S. (District of Columbia)
Sanchez, Sonya Una (California)
Soleimani, Jonathan N. (California)
Sullivan, Steven M. (Maryland)
Tribe, Laurence (Massachusetts)
Trice, Laura Susan (California)
Troncoso, Michael A. (California)
Ventresca, Ivano Michael (California)
Alger, Maureen P. (California)
Axelrod, Julie Beth (California)
Bersin, Alan Douglas (California)
Bohorquez, Fernando A (California)
Brown, Eric Prince (California)
Carome, Patrick J. (California)
Carter, Margaret Louise (California)
Chopra, Apalla U. (California)
Crooks, James Wesley (California)
Deol, John-Paul Singh (California)
Dundas, Michael Joseph (California)
Feuer, Michael Nelson (California)
Fineman, Nancy L. (California)
Giang, Albert Quoc (California)
Goldman, Lauren R. (California)
Gray, Danielle C. (California)
Harrell, James Wells (California)
Harrison, Lindsay C (California)
Kochsiek, Blythe Golay (California)
Leheny, Emma (District of Columbia)
Lopez, Janine Marie (California)
McGinnis, James Landon (California)
Perrelli, Thomas J. (California)
Piers, Matthew J. (California)
Pincus, Andrew John (California)
Popovic, Neil A. Freidman (California)
Sokoler, Jennifer B (California)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6153699/garcia-v-united-states-of-america/
Last updated March 22, 2025, 9:01 a.m.
State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump 1.0 & 2.0 Immigration Enforcement Order Challenges
Trump Administration 1.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 18, 2017
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Six individual DACA recipients residing in California
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
Discrimination Basis:
Immigration/Border:
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)