Justice Department questions states’ standing to challenge DACA

The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal court to dismiss a case challenging Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Key Points:

• In an 8-1 ruling in United States v. Texas in June, the Supreme Court held that Texas and Louisiana lacked standing to challenge federal enforcement priorities related to arrest and deportation.
• Earlier this month, the Justice Department and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund both filed motions with the district court hearing the DACA case, saying the Supreme Court’s ruling calls into question the district court’s previous findings on standing.
• Texas and the other states challenging DACA dispute that the United States v. Texas Supreme Court ruling is applicable; instead, they say a separate recently decided Supreme Court case, Biden v. Nebraska, which struck down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program as exceeding the Secretary of Education’s statutory authority, reinforces their position that the Secretary of Homeland Security lacked the authority to create DACA.

Additional Information: District Court Judge Andrew Hanen is hearing the DACA case after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the memorandum that created DACA in 2012 was unlawful but also asked the district court to consider the legality of a Biden administration rule to protect DACA. The Biden administration constructed the rule to “preserve and fortify” DACA, but the states challenging the program say it “suffers the same flaws” as the 2012 memorandum.

Currently, the Department of Homeland Security continues to adjudicate renewal applications (both DACA and employment authorization) and advance parole requests for existing DACA recipients; the agency remains prohibited from granting initial DACA requests and accompanying requests for employment authorization. BAL will continue to monitor the ongoing litigation and will provide updates on important developments related to DACA.

This alert has been provided by BAL U.S. Practice Group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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