Garcia et al v. United States of America et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against All Defendants. Filed by Saul Jimenez Suarez, Miriam Gonzalez Avila, Viridiana Chabolla Mendoza, Dulce Garcia, Jirayut Latthivongskorn. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Payment of Fees)(Boutrous, Theodore) (Filed on 9/18/2017) (Filing fee $400.00, receipt # 0971-11722776) Modified on 9/18/2017 (haS, COURT STAFF). Modified on 9/20/2017 (gbaS, COURT STAFF).

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GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP
THEODORE J. BOUTROUS, JR., SBN 132099
[e-mail]
KATHERINE M. MARQUART, SBN 248043
[e-mail]
JESSE S. GABRIEL, SBN 263137
[e-mail]
333 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071-3197
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

PUBLIC COUNSEL
MARK D. ROSENBAUM, SBN 59940
[e-mail]
JUDY LONDON, SBN 149431
[e-mail]
610 South Ardmore Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

ETHAN D. DETTMER, SBN 196046
[e-mail]
555 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiffs DULCE GARCIA,
MIRIAM GONZALEZ AVILA, SAUL
JIMENEZ SUAREZ, VIRIDIANA CHABOLLA
MENDOZA, NORMA RAMIREZ, and
JIRAYUT LATTHIVONGSKORN
[Additional Counsel Listed on Next Page]

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

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DULCE GARCIA, MIRIAM GONZALEZ
AVILA, SAUL JIMENEZ SUAREZ,
VIRIDIANA CHABOLLA MENDOZA,
NORMA RAMIREZ, and JIRAYUT
LATTHIVONGSKORN,

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COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND
INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Plaintiffs,

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CIVIL CASE NO.:

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA;
DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity
as President of the United States; U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; and ELAINE DUKE, in her
official capacity as Acting Secretary of
Homeland Security,
Defendants.

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COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

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Additional Counsel for Plaintiffs
BARRERA LEGAL GROUP, PLLC
LUIS CORTES ROMERO, SBN 310852
[e-mail]
19309 68th Avenue South, Suite R102
Kent, WA 98032
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
LAURENCE H. TRIBE, SBN 39441
[e-mail]
Harvard Law School
*Affiliation for identification purposes only
1575 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: [phone]
ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, pro hac vice forthcoming
[e-mail]
University of California, Berkeley School of Law
*Affiliation for identification purposes only
215 Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
Telephone: [phone]
LEAH M. LITMAN, pro hac vice forthcoming
[e-mail]
University of California, Irvine School of Law
*Affiliation for identification purposes only
401 East Peltason Drive
Irvine, CA 92697
Telephone: [phone]

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COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

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INTRODUCTION
The young women and men filing this lawsuit embody the American Dream. Brought to this

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country as children and raised in families that often struggled with poverty and homelessness, each

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has achieved remarkable success through hard work, fierce determination, and incredible resilience.

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These are characteristics that have defined Americans throughout our Nation’s history. Plaintiffs in

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this case are also alike in that each has committed to helping others, choosing to direct their time,

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energy, and considerable talents toward defending, healing, educating, and uplifting individuals and

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communities that are too often ignored. While each of the Plaintiffs is remarkable in his or her own

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right, their stories of success—and their commitment to serving others—are common among the

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nearly 800,000 young people who have come to rely on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

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(“DACA”) program.

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The decision to end the DACA program is a broken promise and an unprecedented violation

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of the constitutional rights of Plaintiffs and other young people who relied on the federal government

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to honor that promise. The government established the DACA program with great fanfare in 2012.

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Under DACA, individuals who were brought to the United States as children and meet certain

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criteria, and who are investigated and found to pose no threat to public safety or national security, are

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granted deferred action and work authorization for a two-year period, subject to renewal. These

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young people are commonly referred to as “Dreamers” in recognition of the fact that they have long

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called this country home and aspire to be part of the American Dream.

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To apply for DACA, eligible individuals are required to provide the government with highly

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sensitive personal information, pay a substantial fee, and submit to a rigorous Department of

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Homeland Security background check. Initially, the DACA program was met with skepticism in

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immigrant communities, as many Dreamers were understandably reluctant to voluntarily disclose

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information (including their current home address) that could facilitate their removal from the United

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States and place their family members at risk. To combat this fear the government launched an

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extensive outreach campaign urging Dreamers to apply for DACA, repeatedly promising that they

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would be able to renew their DACA status and that information they provided in connection with the

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program would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes. As a result, hundreds of

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thousands of young people applied for, and were granted, DACA status. The government quickly

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realized the administrative, law enforcement, public safety, and economic benefits it sought in

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establishing the program.

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In creating DACA, the government offered Plaintiffs and other Dreamers a straightforward

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deal—if they stepped forward, shared sensitive personal information, and passed a background check,

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they would be granted renewable protection and would be allowed to live and work in the United

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States provided that they played by the rules. DACA also provided access to important benefits, and

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enabled recipients to open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, start businesses, purchase homes and

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cars, and conduct other aspects of daily life that were otherwise often unavailable to them. In so

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doing, DACA has allowed Plaintiffs and nearly 800,000 young people to become contributing

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members of society and pursue the American Dream.

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In taking the irreversible step of identifying themselves to the government, Plaintiffs and

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other Dreamers trusted the government to honor its word and uphold its end of the bargain. In

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reliance on the government’s promises, DACA recipients took out student loans, accepted job offers,

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moved to new cities, started businesses, bought homes and cars, and made numerous other life

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changing decisions. They allowed themselves to fall in love, get married, and start families, trusting

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that the security and work authorization provided under DACA would enable them to care for (and

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remain in this country with) their spouses and children.

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The transformative impact DACA had for Plaintiffs cannot be overstated. Brought to this

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country as young children, Plaintiffs have spent virtually their entire lives in the United States. They

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consider themselves to be Americans and call our nation home. Yet for much of their lives, Plaintiffs

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were denied basic opportunities and prohibited from realizing their full potential. But DACA

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changed everything. Beyond a work permit and access to a professional license, DACA provided

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Plaintiffs the certainty and security necessary to enroll in graduate programs, open businesses, hire

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employees, build relationships with clients, patients, and students, and begin to start families of their

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own. Plaintiffs were able to take these risks, and enjoy the benefits of their hard work, because they

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trusted the government to honor its promises and live up to its word.

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Notwithstanding the severe harm it will inflict, the government arbitrarily decided to break its

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promises to Plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of other Dreamers by terminating the DACA

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program. This cruel bait and switch, which was motivated by unconstitutional bias against Mexicans

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and Latinos, violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, the due process rights

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of Plaintiffs and other DACA recipients, and federal law, including the Administrative Procedure

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Act. Plaintiffs therefore seek equitable and injunctive relief to enjoin this unlawful and

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unconstitutional action, and respectfully request that the Court compel the government to honor its

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promises and uphold its end of the DACA bargain.

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JURISDICTION, VENUE, AND INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT
1.

This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because this action arises under

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the Constitution and laws of the United States. This Court has additional remedial authority under

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the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., and the Administrative Procedure Act,

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5 U.S.C. §§ 701–706.

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2.

Venue is proper in the Northern District of California pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1391(b)(2) and (e)(1) because at least one plaintiff resides in this District, a substantial part of the

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events or omissions giving rise to this action occurred in this District, and each defendant is an

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agency of the United States or an officer of the United States sued in his or her official capacity.

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3.

Pursuant to Local Rules 3-2(c) and (d), intradistrict assignment is proper in San

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Francisco or Oakland because a substantial part of the events or omissions which give rise to the

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claim occurred in the Counties of San Francisco and Alameda.

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PARTIES
4.

Plaintiff Dulce Garcia (“Ms. Garcia”) is a DACA recipient and an attorney in San

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Diego, California. Ms. Garcia earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San

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Diego and her law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She was brought to the

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United States from Mexico when she was four years old. The government’s decision to terminate

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the DACA program will deprive Ms. Garcia of her DACA status and the numerous valuable benefits

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she is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination of DACA also will frustrate Ms. Garcia’s

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ability to represent her clients and harm the dozens of individuals who rely on her counsel.

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5.

Plaintiff Viridiana Chabolla Mendoza (“Ms. Chabolla”) is a DACA recipient and a

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first-year law student at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. Ms. Chabolla was

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brought to the United States from Mexico when she was two years old. The government’s decision

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to terminate the DACA program will deprive Ms. Mendoza of her DACA status and the numerous

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valuable benefits she is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination of DACA also will

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frustrate Ms. Chabolla’s ability to fulfill her dream of working as a lawyer and helping individuals

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from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities obtain justice through the legal system.

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6.

Plaintiff Jirayut (“New”) Latthivongskorn (“Mr. Latthivongskorn”) is a DACA

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recipient and a fourth-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco (“UCSF”)

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School of Medicine. He is also a candidate for a Master of Public Health degree from the T.H. Chan

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School of Public Health at Harvard University. Mr. Latthivongskorn was brought to the United

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States from Thailand when he was nine years old. The government’s decision to terminate the

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DACA program will deprive Mr. Latthivongskorn of his DACA status and the numerous valuable

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benefits he is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination of DACA also will frustrate

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Mr. Latthivongskorn’s ability to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor and providing care to

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underserved and unprivileged communities.

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7.

Plaintiff Norma Ramirez (“Ms. Ramirez”) is a DACA recipient and a candidate for

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a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

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Ms. Ramirez was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was five years old. The

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government’s decision to terminate the DACA program will deprive Ms. Ramirez of her DACA

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status and the numerous valuable benefits she is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination

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of DACA also will frustrate Ms. Ramirez’s ability to realize her dream of opening a free

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multidisciplinary therapy clinic to immigrant youth and their families.

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Plaintiff Miriam Gonzalez Avila (“Ms. Gonzalez”) is a DACA recipient and a

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teacher at Crown Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles, California. She is also a candidate for a

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Master of Arts in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University. Ms. Gonzalez was brought

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to the United States from Mexico when she was six years old. The government’s decision to

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terminate the DACA program will deprive Ms. Gonzalez of her DACA status and the numerous

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valuable benefits she is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination of DACA also will

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frustrate Ms. Gonzalez’s ability to teach children in underserved communities, thereby harming the

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children, families, and community who have come to rely on her.

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Plaintiff Saul Jimenez Suarez (“Mr. Jimenez”) is a DACA recipient and a special

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education teacher, coach, and mentor in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Jimenez was brought to the

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United States from Mexico when he was one year old. The government’s decision to terminate the

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DACA program will deprive Mr. Jimenez of his DACA status and the numerous valuable benefits

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he is entitled to by virtue of that status. The termination of DACA also will frustrate Mr. Jimenez’s

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ability to teach and coach young people, including those with special needs, thereby harming dozens

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of families and making poorer the community that he is serving and making a better place.
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Defendant United States of America includes all government agencies and

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departments responsible for the implementation, administration, and termination of the DACA

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program.

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11.

Defendant Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States. President Trump

made the decision to terminate the DACA program and is sued in his official capacity.
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Defendant Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is a cabinet department of the

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federal government with responsibility for, among other things, administering and enforcing the

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nation’s immigration laws.

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13.

Defendant Elaine Duke is the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security and is sued in

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her official capacity. Secretary Duke is responsible for managing DHS, including the administration

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and enforcement of policies and practices related to DACA.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS
Establishment of the DACA Program
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On June 15, 2012, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a

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memorandum establishing the DACA program (the “2012 DACA Memorandum”). Under DACA,

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individuals who were brought to the United States as young children and who met certain specific

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criteria could request deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. In exchange,

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DACA applicants were required to provide the government with highly sensitive personal

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information, submit to a rigorous background check, and pay a considerable fee.1

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Deferred action is a well-established form of prosecutorial discretion under which

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the government defers removal action against an individual for a specified period, subject to

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renewal. The 2012 DACA Memorandum explained that DACA covers “certain young people who

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were brought to this country as children and know only this country as home” and that the

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immigration laws are not “designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may

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not have lived or even speak the language.”2

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16.

The 2012 DACA Memorandum established specific criteria that “should be satisfied

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before an individual is considered for an exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”3 They are that the

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applicant:

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

came to the United States under the age of sixteen;

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has continuously resided in the United States for at least five years preceding the date of the

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memorandum and is present in the United States on the date of the memorandum;


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is currently in school, has graduated from high school, has obtained a general education

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development certificate, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed

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Forces of the United States;


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has not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple
misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise poses a threat to national security or public safety; and



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is not above the age of thirty.4

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Memorandum from Secretary Janet Napolitano, Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect
to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children, at 1–2 (June 15, 2012),
https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/s1-exercising-prosecutorial-discretion-individuals-whocame-to-us-as-children.pdf (hereinafter “2012 DACA Memorandum”).
Id.
Id. at 1.
Id.

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17.

The 2012 DACA Memorandum further provided that “[n]o individual should

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receive deferred action . . . unless they first pass a background check and requests for relief . . . are

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to be decided on a case by case basis.”5

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USCIS describes DACA as follows: “Deferred action is a discretionary

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determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. For

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purposes of future inadmissibility based upon unlawful presence, an individual whose case has been

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deferred is not considered to be unlawfully present during the period in which deferred action is in

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effect. An individual who has received deferred action is authorized by DHS to be present in the

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United States, and is therefore considered by DHS to be lawfully present during the period deferred

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action is in effect. However, deferred action does not confer lawful status upon an individual, nor

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does it excuse any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence.”6

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19.

Like other forms of deferred action, DACA serves the government’s interests by

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allowing the government to prioritize resources and exercise discretion for its own convenience.

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DACA also has provided the government with tremendous law enforcement, public safety, and

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economic benefits. As the government has recognized, our nation “continue[s] to benefit . . . from

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the contributions of those young people who have come forward and want nothing more than to

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contribute to our country and our shared future.”7

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The DACA Application and Renewal Process

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20.

To apply for DACA, applicants must submit extensive documentation establishing

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that they meet the relevant criteria.8 Applicants must also submit a Form I-765 Application for

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Employment Authorization, and pay $495 in fees.9

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Id. at 2.
USCIS DACA FAQs (Archived), Question 1, https://www.uscis.gov/archive/frequently-askedquestions (hereinafter “USCIS DACA FAQs”).
Letter from Secretary Jeh Charles Johnson to U.S. Representative Judy Chu (Dec. 30, 2016),
https://chu.house.gov/sites/chu.house.gov/files/documents/DHS.Signed%20Response%20to%20
Chu%2012.30.16.pdf (hereinafter “Secretary Johnson Letter”).
USCIS DACA FAQs, Questions 28–41.
Id., Question 7; see also USCIS, I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals, https://www.uscis.gov/i-821d.

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21.

DACA applicants must also undergo biometric and biographic background checks.

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When conducting these checks, DHS reviews the applicant’s biometric and biographic information

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“against a variety of databases maintained by DHS and other federal government agencies.”10 If any

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information “indicates that [the applicant’s] presence in the United States threatens public safety or

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national security,” the applicant will be ineligible for DACA absent “exceptional circumstances.”11

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22.

DACA is not limited to a single, two-year deferral of action. On the contrary, the

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ability to renew DACA status is an essential element of the program and one of the main benefits

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used to induce Dreamers to step forward, subject themselves to a rigorous background investigation,

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and share sensitive personal information with the government. Indeed, the government clearly

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understood from the very beginning that Dreamers would not apply for DACA, and the program

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would not be successful, unless they were promised the opportunity to renew their DACA status.

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23.

To that end, the 2012 DACA Memorandum explicitly directs that DACA be

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“subject to renewal, in order to prevent low priority individuals from being placed into removal

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proceedings or removed from the United States.”12 That memorandum also makes clear that DACA

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is meant to protect “productive young people” who “were brought to this country as children and

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know only this country as home” and not merely postpone their removal for two years.13

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24.

DHS also established a straightforward renewal process for DACA and “strongly

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encourage[d]” DACA recipients to submit their renewal request in advance of the relevant

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expiration date.14 Moreover, DACA renewal does not require DACA recipients to meet all of the

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initial criteria for the program, nor does it require them to submit additional documents.15 On the

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contrary, to qualify for renewal, DACA recipients are required to meet three basic criteria: (1) they

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must not have left the United States without advance parole; (2) they must have continuously

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USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 23.
Id., Question 65.
2012 DACA Memorandum, at 3 (emphasis added).
Id.
USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 49.
Id., Questions 53–54.

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resided in the United States after submitting their DACA application; and (3) they must not have

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been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors, or otherwise

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pose a threat to national security or public safety.16

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25.

DHS “Standard Operating Procedures” also provide that, absent an “Egregious

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Public Safety” issue or other special circumstances, DACA status should not be revoked until the

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government has provided a “Notice of Intent to Terminate” which “thoroughly explain[s]” the

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grounds for the termination.17 DHS policy further provides that the recipients of such notice should

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be afforded 33 days to “file a brief or statement contesting the grounds cited in the Notice of Intent

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to Terminate” prior to termination of DACA status.18

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26.

Collectively, these policies and procedures, and the representations of numerous

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government officials, created a clear and reasonable expectation among DACA recipients that they

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would be entitled to continuously renew their DACA status so long as they stayed out of trouble and

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played by the rules.

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Benefits Provided Under the DACA Program

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27.

DACA confers numerous important benefits on those who apply for and are granted

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DACA status. Notably, DACA recipients are granted the right not to be arrested or detained based

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solely on their immigration status during the time period their deferred action is in effect.19

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28.

DACA recipients are also eligible for work authorization under longstanding

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regulations. As USCIS has explained, “an individual whose case has been deferred is eligible to

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receive employment authorization for the period of deferred action . . . .”20

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Id., Question 51.
See DHS National Standard Operating Procedures (SOP): Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA), at 132, 144–45 (Apr. 4, 2013),
https://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/attachments/daca_sop_4-4-13.pdf (the “DACA SOP”).
Id.
See USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 9 (“[I]f an individual meets the guidelines for DACA, CBP
or ICE should exercise their discretion on a case-by-case basis to prevent qualifying individuals
from being apprehended.”); 2012 DACA Memorandum, at 2; see also Ariz. Dream Act Coal. v.
Brewer, 757 F.3d 1053, 1058–59 (9th Cir. 2014).
USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 1.

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29.

DACA recipients are eligible to receive certain public benefits. These include

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Social Security, retirement, and disability benefits, and, in certain states, benefits such as driver’s

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licenses, health care, financial aid, tuition benefits, and unemployment insurance.21

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DACA also serves as a gateway to numerous other important public and private

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practical benefits, and enables recipients to open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, start businesses,

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purchase homes and cars, and conduct other aspects of daily life that would otherwise often be

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unavailable to them.

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31.

DACA also confers certain immigration benefits and the ability to travel abroad.

For example, DACA recipients do not accrue time under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(9)(B)(i), and may
briefly depart the U.S. and legally return under certain circumstances.22

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32.

As the government has recognized, DACA has enabled hundreds of thousands of

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young people “to enroll in colleges and universities, complete their education, start businesses that

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help improve our economy, and give back to our communities as teachers, medical professionals,

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engineers, and entrepreneurs—all on the books.”23

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The Government’s Promises and Its Efforts to Promote DACA

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33.

When the DACA program was first launched, many eligible Dreamers were

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understandably reluctant to step forward and voluntarily disclose sensitive personal information

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(including their current home address) that could facilitate their removal from the United States and

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place their family members at risk. In response, the government launched an extensive outreach

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campaign and vigorously promoted the DACA program. Among other efforts, the government

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provided advice and guidance to civic organizations and education professionals about “best

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practices” they could use to encourage eligible individuals to apply for the program. The

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government also hosted informational workshops, and senior government officials—including

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President Obama—encouraged young people to apply for the program.

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See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1611(b)(2)–(3), 1621(d); Texas v. United States, 809 F.3d 134, 148 (5th Cir.
2015); Ariz. Dream Act Coal. v. Brewer, 81 F. Supp. 3d 795, 811 (D. Ariz. 2015); see also, e.g.,
Cal. Educ. Code §§ 66021.6-66021.7, 68130.5, 76300.5; Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 50301.3.
See USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 57.
Secretary Johnson Letter, at 2.
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34.

The government reiterated these promises in its official correspondence, vowing

2

that DACA recipients would not lose their benefits—including the ability to renew their DACA

3

status—absent specified misconduct. For example, the approval notice granting deferred action

4

under DACA lists only “fraud or misrepresentation” in the application process or “[s]ubsequent

5

criminal activity” as grounds for revoking DACA.24

6

35.

The government also made promises about information provided by DACA

7

recipients as part of its efforts to promote the program. In particular, since the inception of the

8

DACA program, the government has repeatedly represented to applicants, Congress, and the general

9

public that information provided by DACA applicants about themselves or others (including family

10

members) would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes absent special circumstances.

11

36.

As then-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson explained, “[s]ince DACA

12

was announced in 2012, DHS has consistently made clear that information provided by applicants

13

. . . will not later be used for immigration enforcement purposes except where it is independently

14

determined that a case involves a national security or public safety threat, criminal activity, fraud, or

15

limited other circumstances where issuance of a notice to appear is required by law.”25

16

37.

Secretary Johnson further explained that this approach was the “long-standing and

17

consistent practice of DHS (and its predecessor INS)” for many “decades” in the use of information

18

“submitted by people seeking deferred action” under a wide variety of programs, as well as

19

applicants seeking immigration “benefits or relief” under a number of other programs.26 According

20

to Secretary Johnson, “DACA applicants most assuredly relied” upon “these representations” and

21

the agency’s “consistent practice” stretching back decades.27

22

38.

The government’s promise not to use information provided by applicants for

23

immigration enforcement purposes also appears in the USCIS’s official instructions regarding the

24

DACA application process. Those instructions provide:

25
24

26
27

25
26

28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

27

The University of Washington, I-797 DACA Approval Sample, https://registrar.washington.edu/i797-daca-approval_sample.
Secretary Johnson Letter, at 1.
Id. at 1–2.
Id. at 1.
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Information provided in this request is protected from disclosure to ICE and U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the purpose of immigration enforcement
proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear
or a referral to ICE under the criteria set forth in USCIS’ Notice to Appear guidance
(www.uscis.gov/NTA). The information may be shared with national security and law
enforcement agencies, including ICE and CBP, for purposes other than removal,
including for assistance in the consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals
request itself, to identify or prevent fraudulent claims, for national security purposes, or
for the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense. The above information sharing
clause covers family members and guardians, in addition to the requestor.28

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

39.

provided in this request [for DACA] is protected from disclosure to ICE and CBP for the purpose of
immigration enforcement proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a
Notice To Appear or a referral to ICE under the criteria set forth in USCIS’ Notice to Appear
guidance (www.uscis.gov/NTA). Individuals whose cases are deferred pursuant to DACA will not
be referred to ICE.”29

12
13

40.

16
17
18
19

That same promise is also included in DHS’s official, and statutorily-required,

Privacy Impact Assessment for the DACA program.30

14
15

The same promise appears on the DHS website, which states that “[i]nformation

41.

Numerous public officials from both political parties have reinforced these promises

and have recognized that Dreamers have relied on the government to keep its word. For example, in
December 2016, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Charles Johnson acknowledged that there
are hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who have “relied on the U.S. government’s representations”
about DACA, and he asserted that “representations made by the U.S. government, upon which
DACA applicants most assuredly relied, must continue to be honored.”31

20
21
22

28

23
24

29

25
30

26
27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

31

Instructions for Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, USCIS Form I-821D at
13 (Jan. 9, 2017 ed.), https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-821dinstr.pdf
(emphasis added).
USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 19. The referenced Notice to Appearance guidance is USCIS
Policy Memorandum 602-0050 (Nov. 7, 2011) (“Revised Guidance for the Referral of Cases and
Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Removable Aliens”).
DHS, Privacy Impact Assessment, USCIS, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 13 (Aug. 15,
2012), https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy/privacy_pia_uscis_daca.pdf;
see E-Government Act of 2002 Sec. 208(b), Pub L. No. 107-347, 116 Stat. 2899, 2921 (codified
as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note).
Secretary Johnson Letter, at 1.

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42.

In January 2017, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stated that the government must

2

ensure that “the rug doesn’t get pulled out from under” Dreamers, who have “organize[d] [their]

3

li[ves] around” the DACA program.32

4

43.

Also in January 2017, Senator Lindsey Graham stated that the government should

5

not “pull the rug out and push these young men and women—who came out of the shadows and

6

registered with the federal government—back into the darkness.”33

7
8

44.

In February 2017, Congressman Raúl Grijalva described DACA as a

“commitment,” and called for “the federal government to honor its word to protect” Dreamers.34

9

45.

On February 20, 2017, then-Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly issued a

10

memorandum that “immediately rescinded” all “conflicting directives, memoranda, or field

11

guidance regarding the enforcement of our immigration laws and priorities for removal,” but

12

specifically exempted the 2012 DACA Memorandum.35

13
14

46.

On March 29, 2017, then-Secretary Kelly reaffirmed that “DACA status” is a

“commitment . . . by the government towards the DACA person, or the so-called Dreamer.”36

15

47.

On April 21, 2017, President Trump said that his administration is “not after the

16

dreamers” and suggested that “[t]he dreamers should rest easy.” When asked if “the policy of [his]

17

administration [is] to allow the dreamers to stay,” President Trump answered, “Yes.”37

18
19
20

32

33

21
22
34

23
24

35

25
26
36

27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

37

Transcript of CNN Town Hall Meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan, CNN (Jan. 12, 2017),
http://cnn.it/2oyJXJJ.
Lindsey Graham, Graham, Durbin Reintroduce BRIDGE Act To Protect Undocumented Youth
From Deportation (Jan. 12, 2017),
https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/1/graham-durbin-reintroduce-bridge-actto-protect-undocumented-youth-from-deportation.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Leaders Respond to ICE Arrest of DACA Recipient (Feb. 16,
2017), https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/press-releases/congressional-progressive-caucus-leadersrespond-to-ice-arrest-of-daca-recipient.
Memorandum from Secretary John Kelly, Enforcement of the Immigration Laws to Serve the
National Interest, at 2 (Feb. 20, 2017),
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0220_S1_Enforcement-of-theImmigration-Laws-to-Serve-the-National-Interest.pdf (hereinafter “Secretary Kelly Memo”).
Ted Hesson & Seung Min Kim, Wary Democrats Look to Kelly for Answers on Immigration,
Politico (Mar. 29, 2017), http://politi.co/2mR3gSN.
Transcript of AP Interview With Trump, CBS News (Associated Press) (Apr. 24, 2017),
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-of-ap-interview-with-trump.
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2

Ms. Garcia Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA
48.

Dulce Garcia was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was four

3

years old. Ms. Garcia was raised in a low-income, underserved neighborhood in San Diego,

4

California. Throughout her childhood, Ms. Garcia lacked health care and her family struggled with

5

poverty and occasional periods of homelessness.

6

49.

Although she grew up fearing the police and immigration authorities, Ms. Garcia

7

did not learn that she was undocumented until high school. Around this time, Ms. Garcia began to

8

discover the limitations of being undocumented and was advised by her high school guidance

9

counselor that she would be unable to enroll in college or secure federal financial aid despite her

10

academic record.

11

50.

Refusing to yield to these limitations, Ms. Garcia continuously sought to enroll at a

12

local community college, despite repeatedly being denied admission because of her immigration

13

status. Eventually, Ms. Garcia secured admission to the school. Ms. Garcia later transferred to the

14

University of California, San Diego (“UCSD”), graduating in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in

15

political science and securing honors every quarter she was enrolled at UCSD. During this time,

16

Ms. Garcia worked full time as a legal assistant at a small law firm, which solidified her childhood

17

dream of becoming an attorney, and often sought out second and third jobs in order to pay for tuition

18

and books.

19

51.

Ms. Garcia matriculated at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland,

20

Ohio in 2011. Because tuition was a flat rate regardless of the number of units, Ms. Garcia sought

21

the Dean’s approval to take extra classes during her second and third years. Ms. Garcia also worked

22

throughout law school as legal assistant to cover tuition and her living expenses.

23

52.

During her last year of law school, when money was especially tight, Ms. Garcia’s

24

mother gave her $5,000 to help pay for tuition. This sum represented most of Ms. Garcia’s mother’s

25

life savings, which she had earned working the night shift as a hotel housekeeper.

26

53.

During Ms. Garcia’s second year of law school, the government announced the

27

DACA program. Ms. Garcia was overjoyed and broke down in tears when she heard the

28

announcement. Although she was initially skeptical, Ms. Garcia decided that she could trust the

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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government to honor its promises. In reliance on the government’s promises, she applied for

2

DACA, providing the government with her personal information and the required fees. Ms. Garcia

3

passed the background check and was granted DACA status in 2014. In reliance on the

4

government’s promises, Ms. Garcia successfully reapplied for DACA status and work authorization

5

in 2016. Ms. Garcia was admitted to the California Bar in May 2016.

6

54.

Being granted DACA status was a transformative experience for Ms. Garcia.

7

DACA freed Ms. Garcia from the constant worry that she would be detained and deported every

8

time she stepped outside her home. It also gave her the confidence to hire several employees, build

9

a thriving law practice, and represent dozens of clients in immigration, civil litigation, and criminal

10

defense cases. Finally, DACA enabled Ms. Garcia to dream about becoming a mother, allowing her

11

to take the first steps toward becoming a foster parent, with the ultimate goal of adopting a child.

12

55.

Ms. Garcia trusted the government to honor its promises and advised others that

13

information provided as part of DACA would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes.

14

Even after the new administration was sworn into office, Ms. Garcia continued to trust the

15

government, helping to create a video encouraging eligible young people to apply for DACA.

16

Ms. Chabolla Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA

17

56.

Viridiana Chabolla was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was

18

two years old. Ms. Chabolla grew up in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Chabolla confronted the

19

reality of her undocumented status from an early age, and was unable to participate in certain club

20

and community activities that required a Social Security number.

21

57.

Ms. Chabolla was inspired to pursue a career in law by her grandfather, who

22

suggested that becoming an attorney would give her “the power to fight injustice with words.”

23

Ms. Chabolla was further inspired after meeting a Latino judge from East Los Angeles, whose

24

eloquence, impressive academic credentials, and commitment to the community left a deep

25

impression on her.

26

58.

Ms. Chabolla enrolled in Pomona College in the fall of 2009 and graduated with a

27

Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies in May 2013. Ms. Chabolla

28

received numerous honors and awards and was deeply involved in campus life. At the same time,

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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Ms. Chabolla sought out ways to give back to her community, helping to coordinate academic and

2

enrichment activities, SAT preparation classes, and college information sessions for hundreds of

3

students from economically disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. Ms. Chabolla also

4

created and taught an elective course on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement to high school students.

5

59.

In 2012, during her final year of college, Ms. Chabolla applied for and was granted

6

DACA status. In reliance on the promises made by the government, Ms. Chabolla disclosed

7

personal information about herself and her family, paid the required fee, and submitted to a DHS

8

background check. In reliance on the government’s promises, Ms. Chabolla successfully reapplied

9

for DACA status in 2014 and again in 2016.

10

60.

After graduating from Pomona, Ms. Chabolla was hired as a community organizer

11

at Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm. In that capacity, Ms. Chabolla assisted

12

with landmark civil rights litigation involving educational inequities in the public education system,

13

as well as with efforts to provide essential services to homeless veterans, women, and youth in Los

14

Angeles County.

15

61.

Ms. Chabolla’s experiences at Public Counsel solidified her interest in helping

16

underserved individuals and communities obtain justice through the legal system. In pursuit of this

17

goal, Ms. Chabolla secured a special fellowship from the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP,

18

and enrolled earlier this year as a Public Interest Scholar at the University of California, Irvine

19

School of Law.

20

Mr. Latthivongskorn Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA

21

62.

New Latthivongskorn was brought to the United States from Thailand when he was

22

nine years old. Mr. Latthivongskorn was raised in California. His parents first settled in Fremont,

23

California, where they worked cleaning toilets and mopping floors, and later waiting tables at

24

various restaurants. In 2004, Mr. Latthivongskorn’s parents moved the family to Sacramento to

25

open their own restaurant, hoping that it would allow them to earn enough money to be able to send

26

their children to college.

27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

63.

Growing up, Mr. Latthivongskorn lived with the constant fear that he or his parents

might be deported. Mr. Latthivongskorn began to more acutely experience the challenges of being

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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1

undocumented as he grew older, often searching for excuses such as being “deathly afraid of

2

driving” to explain to classmates why he lacked a driver’s license.

3

64.

Mr. Latthivongskorn was inspired to become a doctor after his mother was

4

diagnosed with ovarian tumors during his junior year of high school. Not only did

5

Mr. Latthivongskorn witness the incredible power of medicine to help those in need, but he also

6

experienced the barriers that low-income immigrants face in navigating the health care system.

7

After this experience, Mr. Latthivongskorn decided that he wanted to devote his life to improving

8

access to health care for immigrant and low-income communities.

9

65.

Mr. Latthivongskorn’s parents taught him that hard work and education were the

10

keys to success. In addition to waiting tables, washing dishes, and mopping floors in his family’s

11

restaurant on nights and weekends, Mr. Latthivongskorn immersed himself in his studies, taking

12

honors and AP classes. As a result of his hard work, Mr. Latthivongskorn graduated as salutatorian

13

of his high school class and was accepted to UC Berkeley.

14

66.

Because he lacked a Social Security number, Mr. Latthivongskorn was ineligible for

15

federal financial aid. However, due to his record of achievement, Mr. Latthivongskorn was offered

16

a prestigious scholarship that promised to cover a significant portion of his educational expenses for

17

four years. This scholarship was revoked only weeks before classes began after UC Berkeley

18

learned that Mr. Latthivongskorn lacked legal status. Mr. Latthivongskorn was devastated and

19

considered attending a community college, but his family insisted that he enroll at UC Berkeley.

20

67.

While Mr. Latthivongskorn thrived at UC Berkeley, he constantly worried about

21

how to finance his education. To help pay for school, Mr. Latthivongskorn worked as a busboy at a

22

Thai restaurant and secured scholarships from several nonprofit organizations. Despite his

23

demanding academic and work commitments, Mr. Latthivongskorn devoted significant time to

24

volunteering with several local nonprofit organizations.

25

68.

In 2011, Mr. Latthivongskorn was robbed at gun point just five blocks from the UC

26

Berkeley campus. He decided not to report the crime to the police out of fear that stepping forward

27

to law enforcement might lead to him being deported.

28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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69.

While at UC Berkeley, Mr. Latthivongskorn also developed into an activist and

2

learned the power of grassroots community organizing. Among other efforts, Mr. Latthivongskorn

3

advocated for federal legislation to assist Dreamers, and testified before the California Legislature in

4

support of the California DREAM Act in 2011 and the California TRUST Act in 2013.

5

70.

In 2012, Mr. Latthivongskorn co-founded Pre-Health Dreamers (“PHD”), a national

6

nonprofit organization that provides advising, resources, and advocacy for undocumented students

7

interested in pursuing careers in health care and science. In January 2017, Forbes Magazine named

8

Mr. Latthivongskorn to its “30 Under 30 in Education” list, commending him for being “on the

9

frontline of getting undocumented students into medical professions and on the path to becoming

10
11

physicians and health care professionals.”
71.

In 2012, Mr. Latthivongskorn graduated with honors from UC Berkeley, earning a

12

degree in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Distinction in General Scholarship. In spite of his

13

excellent academic record, Mr. Latthivongskorn was told by the deans of admissions at several

14

medical schools that he should not apply to their programs because he was undocumented and that

15

no medical school would invest their resources in training someone who might not be able to stay in

16

the United States. Refusing to take “no” for an answer, Mr. Latthivongskorn applied to medical

17

school anyway, but was initially turned down.

18

72.

Exactly one month after Mr. Latthivongskorn graduated from UC Berkeley, the

19

government announced the DACA program. Believing that he could rely on the government to

20

honor its promises, Mr. Latthivongskorn applied for DACA in the fall of 2012. He passed the

21

background check and was granted DACA status on January 24, 2013. In reliance on the

22

government’s promises, Mr. Latthivongskorn successfully reapplied for DACA status and work

23

authorization in 2014 and then again in 2016.

24

73.

Being granted DACA status changed Mr. Latthivongskorn’s life. Because DACA

25

recipients were granted permission to stay in the United States on a renewable basis, medical

26

schools became willing to invest in these students for the several years it takes to complete medical

27

school and residency programs. Mr. Latthivongskorn reapplied to medical schools, and in 2014, he

28

enrolled at UCSF, one of the most prestigious and selective medical schools in the country.

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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Mr. Latthivongskorn is part of the Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved

2

(“PRIME-US”), and is committed to using his degree to improve health care delivery systems and

3

assist urban underserved communities.

4

74.

In April 2017, Mr. Latthivongskorn was awarded a prestigious U.S. Public Health

5

Service Excellence in Public Health Award, which is given to medical students who have helped to

6

advance the U.S. Public Health Service’s mission to “protect, promote, and advance the health and

7

safety of our Nation.”

8
9

75.

In August 2017, Mr. Latthivongskorn began pursuing a Master of Public Health at

Harvard University. His goal is to develop a better understanding of health care policy so that he

10

can help to end health disparities and increase access to affordable, quality health care, particularly

11

for immigrants and other underserved communities.

12

Ms. Ramirez Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA

13

76.

Norma Ramirez was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was five

14

years old. Ms. Ramirez attended public high school, where she was an honor roll student. Her

15

undocumented status made an impact on her in high school when she was denied a driver’s license

16

and learned that her dreams of going to college might be out of reach.

17
18
19

77.

Ms. Ramirez attended the College of Southern Nevada, and later the University of

Nevada, Las Vegas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2014.
78.

Ms. Ramirez could not believe the news in 2012 when her pastor sent her a text

20

message telling her about the DACA program. Relying on the government’s promises under the

21

DACA program, Ms. Ramirez applied for DACA status on August 15, 2012. Her application was

22

approved on November 1, 2012. In further reliance on the government’s promises, Ms. Ramirez

23

twice reapplied for DACA status and work authorization, and was reapproved in September 2014

24

and October 2016.

25

79.

Ms. Ramirez has been inspired to continue her education in clinical psychology in

26

part because her experiences as a volunteer mentor have exposed her to the suffering of countless

27

individuals who do not have access to mental health services, much less access to practitioners who

28

speak their native language or share an understanding of the immigrant experience. Her motivation

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1

also stems from her own difficulties in finding a supportive environment to discuss the challenges

2

and barriers she has faced as an undocumented immigrant.

3

80.

In 2015, Ms. Ramirez began her graduate work at the Fuller Theological Seminary

4

in Pasadena, California. She earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 2017 and is

5

currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Since 2016, Ms. Ramirez has worked at an

6

outpatient clinic in Monrovia, California, providing school and home-based therapy to patients in

7

English and Spanish, and also has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Immigration

8

Resource Center of San Gabriel Valley.

9

81.

DACA enabled Ms. Ramirez to pursue her dream of establishing a free clinic that

10

provides mental health services to immigrant youth, Latinos, and their families. As a Dreamer,

11

Ms. Ramirez understands the challenges faced by many of her patients, and is able to secure their

12

trust in a way that many other mental health practitioners cannot.

13

Ms. Gonzalez Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA

14

82.

Miriam Gonzalez was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was six

15

years old. She was raised in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in

16

2011.

17

83.

Ms. Gonzalez first learned she was undocumented in the seventh grade, after talking

18

with her friends about getting a summer job at an elementary school. When she asked her parents

19

for her Social Security number so that she could apply to work with her friends, they informed her

20

that she was undocumented and had no Social Security number.

21

84.

In spite of their undocumented status, Ms. Gonzalez’s parents pushed her to get

22

good grades, with the hope that she would go to college. In high school, Ms. Gonzalez began telling

23

her teachers that she was undocumented, and they provided her with resources about the application

24

process and about a California law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

25

85.

Relying on the government’s promises under the DACA program, Ms. Gonzalez

26

applied for DACA status and work authorization in December 2012. Her application was approved

27

in February 2013. In further reliance on the government’s promises, Ms. Gonzalez successfully

28

reapplied for DACA status and work authorization in December 2014 and October 2016.

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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86.

Ms. Gonzalez attended college at the University of California, Los Angeles

2

(“UCLA”), graduating in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a minor in Classical

3

Civilizations. She was named to the Dean’s Honors List for her academic performance in the spring

4

of 2015. While at UCLA, Ms. Gonzalez earned money by tutoring elementary, middle, and high

5

school students, and by working as a campus parking assistant.

6

87.

Ms. Gonzalez has been active in community service since a young age, focusing her

7

energy on immigrants’ rights and education for the underserved. While at UCLA, she helped to host

8

the 2014 Immigrant Youth Empowerment Conference—the largest immigrant youth conference in

9

the country—as well as an Educators Conference, a DACA clinic, and several additional

10

immigrants’ rights workshops. Ms. Gonzalez also mentored two students at Van Nuys High School,

11

motivating them to pursue a higher education and advising them on the college application process.

12

88.

Ms. Gonzalez ultimately decided that she could give the most to her community by

13

teaching students in underserved communities. After graduating from UCLA in 2016,

14

Ms. Gonzalez was accepted into the selective Teach For America (“TFA”) program. Through TFA,

15

Ms. Gonzalez currently teaches Math and Reading Intervention to struggling middle school students

16

at Crown Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles.

17

89.

In 2017, Ms. Gonzalez received her Preliminary Multiple Subject Teaching

18

Credential from Loyola Marymount University, which is valid until 2022. Ms. Gonzalez is

19

currently studying at Loyola Marymount to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Urban Education, with

20

a focus in Policy and Administration. Upon her expected completion of her master’s program and

21

her service with TFA in the spring of 2018, Ms. Gonzalez hopes to continue to teach in the Los

22

Angeles area, mentoring and inspiring young students from disadvantaged communities to pursue a

23

higher education and achieve their full potential.

24

Mr. Jimenez Relied on the Government’s Promises Regarding DACA

25

90.

Saul Jimenez was brought to the United States from Mexico when he was one year

26

old. Mr. Jimenez was raised in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He

27

attended Roosevelt High School, where he was a star athlete. Among other achievements, he was

28

captain of the football team and an all-league wide receiver. Mr. Jimenez worked throughout high

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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school, helping his parents make ends meet by delivering newspapers and washing dishes at an

2

Italian restaurant.

3

91.

Following high school, Mr. Jimenez played football for two years at East Los

4

Angeles Community College, viewing his commitment to the game as a ticket to a four-year

5

university. At the same time, Mr. Jimenez was also working two or three jobs, and often struggled

6

to stay awake during practice and team meetings. Mr. Jimenez explored becoming a firefighter and

7

considered a career in law enforcement, but learned that his legal status prevented him from serving

8

his community in these ways.

9

92.

In 2007, Mr. Jimenez’s hard work paid off and he was awarded a football

10

scholarship to Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Mr. Jimenez again served as team captain and

11

was chosen by his teammates as defensive MVP—now playing as an outside linebacker.

12

93.

In Oklahoma, Mr. Jimenez began mentoring high school students through the U.S.

13

Department of Education’s Upward Bound program. Mr. Jimenez quickly found that he enjoyed

14

working with young people and was able to connect with and help many of his students.

15

94.

In 2010, Mr. Jimenez returned to Boyle Heights, working in low-wage jobs in

16

warehouses and restaurants to support his parents and himself. However, after the government

17

announced the DACA program in 2012, Mr. Jimenez began to believe that he could build a career

18

for himself, and worked to improve his resume.

19

95.

Relying on the government’s promises under the DACA program, Mr. Jimenez

20

successfully applied for DACA status in 2012. In further reliance on the government’s promises,

21

Mr. Jimenez successfully reapplied for DACA status and work authorization in 2014.

22

96.

Shortly after receiving DACA status, Mr. Jimenez secured three part-time teaching

23

and mentorship positions, working as a tutor, a sports coach in an after-school program, and as a

24

manager at an adolescent rehabilitation center at night. After a few months, Mr. Jimenez accepted a

25

full-time position as a program coordinator with the national nonprofit HealthCorps, which enabled

26

him to continue to pursue his interest in teaching and mentorship.

27
28
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97.

In August 2016, Mr. Jimenez began working as a substitute teacher in the Los

Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Jimenez is now a full-time special education teacher at

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Stevenson Middle School, where he helps students with learning disabilities overcome their

2

challenges.

3

98.

Mr. Jimenez has also pursued coaching as a further means to inspire and uplift

4

young people. In recent years, Mr. Jimenez has also served as the head junior varsity football coach,

5

the head girls junior varsity soccer coach, and an assistant varsity football coach at Roosevelt High

6

School. Through coaching, Mr. Jimenez seeks to teach young people skills and lessons that will

7

apply broadly and benefit them throughout their lives.

8

President Trump’s Statements and Actions Prior to Ending DACA

9

99.

The government’s decision to end the DACA program was motivated by improper

10

discriminatory intent and animus toward Mexican nationals, individuals of Mexican heritage, and

11

Latinos, who together account for 93 percent of approved DACA applications.

12

100.

According to USCIS, approximately 79 percent of approved DACA applications

13

through March 31, 2017, have been submitted by Mexican nationals.38 No other nationality makes

14

up more than 4 percent of approved DACA applications.39 93 percent of approved DACA

15

applications have been submitted by individuals from Latin American countries.40

16

101.

President Trump’s statements and actions reflect a pattern of bias against Mexicans

17

and Latinos. For example, on February 24, 2015, President Trump demanded that Mexico “stop

18

sending criminals over our border.”41 On March 5, 2015, President Trump tweeted that he

19

“want[ed] nothing to do with Mexico other than to build an impenetrable WALL . . . .”42

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38

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39

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40

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41

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42

USCIS, Form I-821D Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by Fiscal Year,
Quarter, Intake, Biometrics and Case Status Fiscal Year 2012-2017 (Mar. 31, 2017),
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports%20and%20Studies/Immigrati
on%20Forms%20Data/All%20Form%20Types/DACA/daca_performancedata_fy2017_qtr2.pdf.
Id.
Id.
Donald J. Trump, Tweet on February 24, 2015 at 4:47 PM.
Donald J. Trump, Tweet on March 5, 2015 at 4:50 PM.

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102.

On June 16, 2015, during his speech launching his presidential campaign, President

2

Trump characterized immigrants from Mexico as criminals, “rapists,” and “people that have lots of

3

problems.”43 President Trump later asserted that these remarks were “100 percent correct.”44

4

103.

Three days later, President Trump tweeted that “[d]ruggies, drug dealers, rapists and

5

killers are coming across the southern border,” and asked, “When will the U.S. get smart and stop

6

this travesty?”45

7

104.

On August 6, 2015, during the first Republican presidential debate, President Trump

8

said “the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning. And they send

9

the bad ones over because they don’t want to pay for them, they don’t want to take care of them.”46

10

105.

On August 21, 2015, two men urinated on a sleeping Latino man and then beat him

11

with a metal pole. At the police station, they stated “Donald Trump was right; all these illegals need

12

to be deported.” When asked about the incident, President Trump failed to condemn the men,

13

instead stating that they were “passionate.” Specifically, President Trump said, “[i]t would be a

14

shame . . . I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country

15

and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.”47

16
17

106.

On August 24, 2015, President Trump tweeted, “Jeb Bush is crazy, who cares that

he speaks Mexican, this is America, English!!”48

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43

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44

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45
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47

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Donald J. Trump, Presidential Announcement Speech (June 16, 2015), available at
http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/.
Sandra Guy, Trump in Chicago: Says he’s ‘100 percent correct’ about Mexicans, blasts U.S. as
‘laughingstock’ – ‘we’re all a bunch of clowns’, Chicago Sun Times (June 24, 2016),
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/trump-in-chicago-says-hes-100-percent-correct-aboutmexicans-blasts-u-s-as-laughingstock-were-all-a-bunch-of-clowns/.
Donald J. Trump, Tweet on June 19, 2015, at 7:22 PM.
Andrew O’Reilly, At GOP debate, Trump says ‘stupid’ U.S. leaders are being duped by Mexico,
Fox News (Aug. 6, 2015), http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/06/at-republican-debatetrump-says-mexico-is-sending-criminals-because-us.html.
Adrian Walker, ‘Passionate’ Trump fans behind homeless man’s beating?, The Boston Globe
(Aug. 21, 2015), https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/20/after-two-brothers-allegedlybeat-homeless-man-one-them-admiringly-quote-donald-trump-deportingillegals/I4NXR3Dr7litLi2NB4f9TN/story.html.
Donald J. Trump, Tweet on August 24, 2015 at 7:14 PM.

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2

107.

On September 25, 2015, President Trump suggested that the United States would no

longer “take care” of “anchor babies” from Mexico.49

3

108.

In May and June 2016, President Trump repeatedly attacked United States District

4

Judge Gonzalo Curiel, asserting that because he was “of Mexican heritage” he had “an absolute”

5

and “inherent conflict of interest” that precluded him from hearing a lawsuit against President

6

Trump’s eponymous university.50 Speaker of the House Paul Ryan characterized President Trump’s

7

comments as “the textbook definition of a racist comment.”51 Senator Susan Collins similarly

8

asserted that President Trump’s “statement that Judge Curiel could not rule fairly because of his

9

Mexican heritage” was “absolutely unacceptable.”52

10
11

109.

On August 31, 2016, President Trump raised concerns about immigrants, saying

“we have no idea who these people are, where they come from. I always say Trojan Horse.”53

12

110.

In August 2017, President Trump asserted that a group of white supremacists

13

marching in Charlottesville, Virginia included “some very fine people.”54 Former Massachusetts

14

Governor Mitt Romney suggested that these comments “caused racists to rejoice,”55 while Senator

15

Lindsay Graham noted that the President was “now receiving praise from some of the most racist

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17

49

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50

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51

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52

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53

54

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Donald J. Trump, Speech in Oklahoma City, OK at 41:31-42:30 YouTube (Sept. 25, 2015),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j4bY7NAFww.
Daniel White, Donald Trump Ramps Up Attacks Against Judge in Trump University Case, Time
(June 2, 2016), http://time.com/4356045/donald-trump-judge-gonzalo-curiel/.
Sarah McCammon, Trump Says Comments About Judge ‘Have Been Misconstrued’, Nat’l Pub.
Radio (June 7, 2016), http://www.npr.org/2016/06/07/481013560/ryan-trumps-criticism-of-judgetextbook-definition-of-a-racist-comment.
Susan Collins, U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ Statement on Donald Trump’s Comments on the
Judiciary (June 6, 2016), https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/us-senator-susancollins%E2%80%99-statement-donald-trump%E2%80%99s-comments-judiciary.
Transcript of Donald Trump’s Immigration Speech, N.Y. Times (Sept. 1, 2016),
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/us/politics/transcript-trump-immigrationspeech.html?mcubz=0.
Meghan Keneally, Trump lashes out at ‘alt-left’ in Charlottesville, says ‘fine people on both
sides’, ABC News (Aug. 15, 2017), http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lashes-alt-leftcharlottesville-fine-people-sides/story?id=49235032.
Emma Kinery, Mitt Romney: President Trump’s Charlottesville comments ‘caused racists to
rejoice’, USA Today (Aug. 18, 2017),
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/18/mitt-romney-criticizespresident-trump-charlottesville-statement/579410001/.

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and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country.”56 Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke

2

thanked President Trump for his “honesty and courage.”57

3

111.

On August 22, 2017, during a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, President Trump described

4

unauthorized immigrants as “animals” who bring “the drugs, the gangs, the cartels, the crisis of

5

smuggling and trafficking.”58

6

112.

On August 25, 2017, President Trump pardoned former Maricopa County Sheriff

7

Joseph Arpaio, who had been convicted of criminal contempt by United States District Judge Susan

8

R. Bolton for intentionally disobeying a federal court order to cease targeting Latinos. A

9

comprehensive investigation by the United States Department of Justice found that under Sheriff

10

Arpaio’s leadership the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office engaged in a pattern and practice of

11

unconstitutional conduct and violations of federal law based on its blatantly discriminatory practices

12

against Latinos.59 Among other conclusions, the Justice Department investigation uncovered “a

13

pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos” and noted that Sheriff Arpaio’s officers

14

routinely referred to Latinos as “wetbacks,” “Mexican bitches,” “fucking Mexicans,” and “stupid

15

Mexicans.” In pardoning Sheriff Arpaio, President Trump praised him as an “American patriot”60

16

and suggested that he was “convicted for doing his job.”61

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56

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58

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59

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61

Eugene Scott & Miranda Green, Trump, Graham feud over President’s Charlottesville response,
CNN Politics (Aug. 17, 2017), http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/16/politics/lindsey-graham-donaldtrump-charlottesville/index.html.
Z. Byron Wolf, Trump’s defense of the ‘very fine people’ at Charlottesville white nationalist
march has David Duke gushing, CNN Politics (Aug. 15, 2017),
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/politics/donald-trump-david-duke-charlottesville/index.html.
President Trump Speaks Live in Phoenix, Arizona with Campaign-Style Rally, CNN (Aug. 22,
2017), http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1708/22/cnnt.01.html.
U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Office of Pub. Affairs, Department of Justice Releases Investigative
Findings on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (Dec. 15, 2011),
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-releases-investigative-findings-maricopacounty-sheriff-s-office.
Donald J. Trump, Tweet on August 25, 2017, at 7:00 PM.
Julie Hirschfeld Davis & Maggie Haberman, Trump Pardons Joe Arpaio, Who Became Face of
Crackdown on Illegal Immigration, N.Y. Times (Aug. 25, 2017),
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/politics/joe-arpaio-trump-pardon-sheriff-arizona.html.

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113.

President Trump’s recent comments and actions reflect an ongoing pattern and

2

practice of bias stretching back decades. In 1973, the United States Department of Justice sued

3

President Trump after a federal investigation found that his company had engaged in systematic

4

racial discrimination. To settle this lawsuit, President Trump agreed to a settlement in which he

5

promised not to discriminate further against people of color.62

6

The Termination of the DACA Program

7

114.

Throughout the first eight months of 2017, the Trump Administration sent strong

8

signals that Dreamers could and should continue to rely on the government’s promises regarding the

9

DACA program. As noted above, then-Secretary of Homeland Security John D. Kelly specifically

10

exempted DACA from the Administration’s broad repeal of other immigration programs, and

11

reaffirmed that DACA status is a “commitment” by the government.63 On April 21, 2017, President

12

Trump said that his administration is “not after the dreamers,” suggested that “[t]he dreamers should

13

rest easy,” and responded to the question of whether “the policy of [his] administration [is] to allow

14

the dreamers to stay,” by answering “Yes.”64

15

115.

On June 29, 2017, officials from ten states65 that had previously challenged another

16

deferred action program, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent

17

Residents (“DAPA”), sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asserting that the DACA

18
19

62

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63

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64

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Michael Kranish & Robert O’Harrow, Jr., Inside the government’s racial bias case against
Donald Trump’s company, and how he fought it, The Washington Post (Jan. 23, 2016),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-governments-racial-bias-case-againstdonald-trumps-company-and-how-he-fought-it/2016/01/23/fb90163e-bfbe-11e5-bcda62a36b394160_story.html?utm_term=.b640592cbc5a.
Secretary Kelly Memo, supra note 35; Hesson & Kim, supra note 36.
Transcript of AP Interview With Trump, supra note 37.
On September 1, 2017, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slattery III reversed course and
decided Tennessee would not join the suit, citing “a human element to this [issue]” that “should
not be ignored.” See Letter from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slattery III to Sens.
Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker (Sept. 1, 2017),
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/373699/27673058/1504293882007/DACA%2Bletter%2B91-2017.pdf. Attorney General Slattery further acknowledged that DACA recipients “have an
appreciation for the opportunities afforded them by our country,” and that “[m]any . . . have
outstanding accomplishments and laudable ambitions, which if achieved, will be of great benefit
and service” to the United States. Id.

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program is unlawful. The states threatened to challenge DACA in court unless the federal

2

government rescinded the DACA program by September 5, 2017.66

3

116.

On July 21, 2017, attorneys general from twenty states sent a letter to President

4

Trump urging him to maintain DACA and defend the program in court, asserting that the arguments

5

of the states which were threatening to bring suit were “wrong as a matter of law and policy.”67

6

117.

On August 31, 2017, hundreds of America’s leading business executives sent a

7

letter to President Trump urging him to preserve the DACA program.68 The letter explains that

8

“Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy” and are part of America’s

9

“global competitive advantage.”69

10

118.

On September 4, 2017, Attorney General Sessions wrote to Acting Secretary of

11

Homeland Security Duke, describing his assessment that “DACA was effectuated by the previous

12

administration through executive action, without proper statutory authority;” that DACA “was an

13

unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch;” and that “it is likely that potentially

14

imminent litigation would yield similar results [as the DAPA litigation] with respect to DACA.”70

15

119.

On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced the government’s

16

decision to end the DACA program. In his remarks, Attorney General Sessions recognized that

17

DACA “essentially provided a legal status for recipients for a renewable two-year term, work

18

authorization and other benefits, including participation in the social security program,” but asserted

19
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66

67

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69
70

Letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, et al., to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions
(June 29, 2017), https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/DACA_letter_6_29_2017.pdf.
Letter from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, et al., to President Donald J. Trump
(July 21, 2017), https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press_releases/7-2117%20%20Letter%20from%20State%20AGs%20to%20President%20Trump%20re%20DACA.fi
nal_.pdf.
Letter to President Donald J. Trump, et al., (Aug. 31, 2017),
https://dreamers.fwd.us/business-leaders.
Id.
Letter from U.S. Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions to Acting Secretary of Homeland
Security Elaine C. Duke (Sept. 4, 2017),
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0904_DOJ_AG-letter-DACA.pdf.

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that the program “is vulnerable to the same legal and constitutional challenges that the courts

2

recognized with respect to the DAPA program.”71

3

120.

Attorney General Sessions’s comments regarding the legality of the DACA program

4

contradict conclusions previously reached by both the Department of Justice and the Department of

5

Homeland Security. Specifically, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”)

6

provided a detailed analysis of DAPA in 2014, concluding that DAPA—as well as DACA—was a

7

lawful exercise of the Executive Branch’s “discretion to enforce the immigration laws.”72 More

8

recently, in its brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, DHS concluded that

9

programs like DACA are “lawful exercise[s]” of the Executive Branch’s “broad statutory authority”

10

to administer and enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101, et seq.73

11

121.

Nonetheless, on the same date as Attorney General Sessions’s announcement,

12

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Duke issued a memorandum formally rescinding the DACA

13

program (the “Rescission Memorandum”).74 Unlike OLC’s 2014 analysis, the Rescission

14

Memorandum provides no reasoned evaluation of the legality and merits of the program. Instead, it

15

states that the threat of litigation by numerous state attorneys general provoked the decision to

16

terminate DACA.

17

122.

In addition to the Rescission Memorandum, Secretary Duke also issued an

18

accompanying statement asserting that the government had decided to end DACA rather than “allow

19

the judiciary to potentially shut the program down completely and immediately.”75 Secretary Duke

20

71

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72

73

74

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75

U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Office of Pub. Affairs, Attorney General Sessions Delivers Remarks on
DACA (Sept. 5, 2017), https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-sessions-deliversremarks-daca.
Dep’t of Homeland Sec.’s Auth. to Prioritize Removal of Certain Aliens Unlawfully Present in
the U.S. & to Defer Removal of Others, 2014 WL 10788677 (Op. O.L.C. Nov. 19, 2014).
See Brief for Petitioners at 42, United States v. Texas, 136 S. Ct. 2271 (2016) (No. 15-674), 2016
WL 836758 at *42.
Memorandum from Acting Secretary Elaine C. Duke, Rescission of the June 15, 2012
Memorandum Entitled “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who
Came to the United States as Children” (Sept. 5, 2017),
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/memorandum-rescission-daca.
Statement from Acting Secretary Duke on the Rescission Of Deferred Action For Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) (Sept. 5, 2017), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/statement-actingsecretary-duke-rescission-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca (emphasis added).

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also expressed “sympath[y]” and “frustrat[ion]” on “behalf” of DACA recipients, candidly

2

acknowledging that “DACA was fundamentally a lie.”76

3

123.

Under the Rescission Memorandum, the federal government will continue to

4

process DACA applications received by September 5, 2017. Furthermore, the federal government

5

will issue renewals for recipients whose permits expire before March 5, 2018, provided they apply

6

for renewal by October 5, 2017. The government will not approve any new or pending applications

7

for advanced parole.

8

124.

9

In a statement also issued on September 5, 2017, President Trump claimed that he

decided to end DACA because he had been advised that “the program is unlawful and

10

unconstitutional and cannot be successfully defended in court,” and because DACA “helped spur a

11

humanitarian crisis—the massive surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America including,

12

in some cases, young people who would become members of violent gangs throughout our country,

13

such as MS-13.”77

14

125.

The government also has taken affirmative steps to reduce the protections applicable

15

to information provided in connection with the DACA program. In January 2017, President Trump

16

issued an Executive Order directing all agencies, including DHS, to “ensure that their privacy

17

policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the

18

protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information.”78 DHS has confirmed

19

that its new privacy policy “permits the sharing of information about immigrants and non-

20

immigrants with federal, state, and local law enforcement.”79

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25

76

77

78

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Id.
Statement from President Donald J. Trump (Sept. 5, 2017), https://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2017/09/05/statement-president-donald-j-trump.
Exec. Order No. 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” (Jan. 25,
2017), https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-orderenhancing-public-safety-interior-united.
DHS, Privacy Policy 2017-01 Questions & Answers, at 3 (Apr. 27, 2017),
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Privacy%20Policy%20Questions%20%20An
swers%2C%2020170427%2C%20Final.pdf.

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126.

The Rescission Memorandum also provides no assurance that information provided

2

in connection with DACA applications or renewal requests will not be used for immigration

3

enforcement purposes. To the contrary, DHS posted public guidance about the impact of the

4

rescission on the same day that the Rescission Memorandum was issued. This guidance backtracks

5

on the government’s prior repeated assurances that “[i]nformation provided in [a DACA] request is

6

protected from disclosure to ICE and CBP for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings

7

. . . .”80 Now, rather than affirmatively “protect[ing] [this information] from disclosure,” the

8

government represents only that such sensitive information “will not be proactively provided to ICE

9

and CBP for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings . . . .”81 And even this policy

10

“may not be relied upon” by any party and can be changed “at any time without notice.”82

11

127.

Despite terminating DACA, other uses of deferred action and programs benefitting

12

other groups of immigrants remain in effect.

13

The Termination of the DACA Program Will Inflict Severe Harm

14

128.

The termination of the DACA program will severely harm Plaintiffs and hundreds

15

of thousands of other young Dreamers. Among other things, Plaintiffs stand to lose their ability to

16

access numerous federal, state, and practical benefits, and to reside in the United States with their

17

families. Nearly 800,000 other young people will similarly face the prospect of losing their jobs,

18

being denied vital benefits, and being separated from the family, friends, colleagues, and

19

communities that love and rely on them. The termination of the DACA program will also harm the

20

students, patients, clients, community members, family, and friends who have come to rely on

21

Plaintiffs for essential services and emotional and financial support.

22
23
24

80

25
26

81

27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

82

USCIS DACA FAQs, Question 19 (emphasis added). The referenced Notice to Appearance
guidance is USCIS Policy Memorandum 602-0050 (Nov. 7, 2011) (“Revised Guidance for the
Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and
Removable Aliens”).
DHS, Frequently Asked Questions: Rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
(Sept. 5, 2017) (emphasis added), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/frequently-askedquestions-rescission-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca.
Id.

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129.

With the sensitive personal information they provided to the federal government no

2

longer “protected from disclosure,” Plaintiffs and other DACA recipients face the imminent risk that

3

such information could be used against them “at any time,” “without notice,” for purposes of

4

immigration enforcement, including detention or deportation.

5

130.

Terminating DACA will also cause widespread economic harm.83 DACA has

6

enabled approximately 800,000 hardworking, ambitious, and educated young people to enter the

7

labor force. Over 90 percent of DACA recipients are employed, and over 95 percent are bilingual, a

8

valuable skill that is increasingly needed by American companies.84

9
10

131.

Terminating the DACA program will also have a negative impact on the economy

and American competitiveness.85

11

132.

On August 31, 2017, in recognition of these costs and their concern for Dreamers,

12

hundreds of America’s most important business leaders sent a letter to President Trump emphasizing

13

the benefits of the DACA program and urging him to preserve it. The letter explains that “Dreamers

14

are vital to the future of our companies and our economy” and part of America’s “global

15

competitive advantage.”86

16

CAUSES OF ACTION

17

FIRST COUNT

18

FIFTH AMENDMENT – DUE PROCESS

19
20

133.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.

21
22
83

23
24
25
26
27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

84
85

86

See, e.g., Ike Brannon & Logan Albright, The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Repealing DACA,
The Cato Institute (Jan. 18, 2017), https://www.cato.org/blog/economic-fiscal-impact-repealingdaca; Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Money on the Table: The Economic Cost of Ending
DACA (Dec. 2016), https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/2016-12-13_ilrc_report__money_on_the_table_economic_costs_of_ending_daca.pdf.
Id.
See Ike Brannon & Logan Albright, supra note 83 (concluding that terminating DACA will cost
the federal government $60 billion in lost revenue and reduce GDP by $215 billion).
Letter to President Donald J. Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan, Leader Nancy Pelosi, Leader Mitch
McConnell, and Leader Charles E. Schumer (Aug. 31, 2017), https://dreamers.fwd.us/businessleaders.
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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1
2
3

134.

Immigrants who are physically present in the United States are guaranteed the

protections of the Due Process Clause. See Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 693 (2001).
135.

The Constitution “imposes constraints on governmental decisions which deprive

4

individuals of ‘liberty’ or ‘property’ interests within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the

5

Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment.” Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 332 (1976). A threshold

6

inquiry in any case involving a violation of procedural due process “is whether the plaintiffs have a

7

protected property or liberty interest and, if so, the extent or scope of that interest.” Nozzi v. Hous.

8

Auth. of L.A., 806 F.3d 1178, 1190–91 (9th Cir. 2015) (citing Bd. of Regents of State Colls. v. Roth,

9

408 U.S. 564, 569–70 (1972)).

10

136.

The property interests protected by the Due Process Clause “extend beyond tangible

11

property and include anything to which a plaintiff has a ‘legitimate claim of entitlement.’” Nozzi,

12

806 F.3d at 1191 (quoting Roth, 408 U.S. at 576–77). “A legitimate claim of entitlement is created

13

[by] . . . ‘rules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims of entitlement to

14

those benefits.’” Id. (quoting Roth, 408 U.S. at 577).

15

137.

In addition to freedom from detention, Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 690, the term “liberty”

16

also encompasses the ability to work, raise a family, and “form the other enduring attachments of

17

normal life.” Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 482 (1972) (citing Roth, 408 U.S. at 572).

18

138.

DACA recipients, including Plaintiffs, have constitutionally protected liberty and

19

property interests in their DACA status and the numerous benefits conferred thereunder, including

20

the ability to renew their DACA status every two years. These protected interests exist by virtue of

21

the government’s decision to grant DACA recipients certain benefits and its repeated representations

22

and promises regarding the DACA program. See Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 262 (1970); Perry

23

v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 601 (1972) (“A person’s interest in a benefit is a ‘property’ interest for

24

due process purposes if there are such rules or mutually explicit understandings that support his claim

25

of entitlement to the benefit and that he may invoke at a hearing.”).

26

139.

In establishing and continuously operating DACA under a well-defined framework

27

of highly specific criteria—including nearly 150 pages of specific instructions for managing the

28

program—the government created a reasonable expectation among Plaintiffs and other DACA

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1

recipients that they are entitled to the benefits provided under the program, including the ability to

2

seek renewal of their DACA status, as long as they continue to play by the rules and meet the

3

program’s nondiscretionary criteria for renewal.

4

140.

DACA status is uniquely valuable to Plaintiffs and other Dreamers in that it serves

5

as a gateway to numerous essential benefits. Revocation of DACA effectively deprives these young

6

people of the ability to be fully contributing members of society.

7

141.

The ability to renew DACA status at regular intervals has always been an essential

8

element of the program and part of the deal offered by the government. The prospect of renewal was

9

one of the primary benefits the government used to induce Plaintiffs and other Dreamers to step

10

forward, disclose highly sensitive personal information, and subject themselves to a rigorous

11

background investigation.

12

142.

The government’s arbitrary termination of the DACA program and deprivation of

13

the opportunity to renew DACA status violates the due process rights of Plaintiffs and other DACA

14

recipients.

15

143.

The government’s decision to terminate DACA after vigorously promoting the

16

program and coaxing hundreds of thousands of highly vulnerable young people to step forward is an

17

unconstitutional bait-and-switch. See, e.g., Cox v. State of La., 379 U.S. 559, 571 (1965); Raley v.

18

State of Ohio, 360 U.S. 423, 438–39 (1959). The government promised Plaintiffs and other young

19

people that if they disclosed highly sensitive personal information, passed a background check, and

20

played by the rules, they would be able to live and work in the United States. The government’s

21

termination of the DACA program is a breach of that promise. For the government to now “say . . .

22

‘The joke is on you. You shouldn’t have trusted us,’ is hardly worthy of our great government.”

23

Moda Health Plan, Inc. v. United States, 130 Fed. Cl. 436, 466 (Fed. Cl. 2017) (quoting Brandt v.

24

Hickel, 427 F.2d 53, 57 (9th Cir. 1970)).

25

144.

The Due Process Clause also forbids the government from breaking its promises,

26

especially where, as here, individuals, have been induced to undertake actions with potentially

27

devastating consequences in reliance on those promises.

28
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Crutcher LLP

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145.

The use of information provided by Plaintiffs and other DACA applicants for

2

immigration enforcement actions has particularly egregious due process implications. These

3

individuals disclosed sensitive personal information in reliance on the government’s explicit and

4

repeated assurances that it would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes and would in

5

fact be “protected from disclosure” to ICE and CBP. The government has already violated its

6

promises regarding DACA, and there is little reason to believe it will not similarly breach its

7

representations regarding information sharing. Cf. Raley, 360 U.S. at 438 (“convicting a citizen for

8

exercising a privilege which the State clearly had told him was available to him,” was the “most

9

indefensible sort of entrapment by the State”). Indeed, the government already has breached its prior

10

commitments to affirmatively “protect[] [sensitive information] from disclosure,” now asserting only

11

that it will not “proactively provide[]” such information to ICE and CBP for the purpose of

12

immigration enforcement proceedings.

13

146.

The Due Process Clause also requires that the federal government’s immigration

14

enforcement actions be fundamentally fair. Here, the government’s arbitrary decisions to terminate

15

DACA and change the policy regarding the use of information provided by DACA applicants are

16

fundamentally unfair.

17
18

147.

Defendants’ violations of the Due Process Clause have harmed Plaintiffs and will

continue to cause ongoing harm to Plaintiffs.

19

SECOND COUNT

20

FIFTH AMENDMENT – EQUAL PROTECTION

21
22
23

148.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
149.

The Fifth Amendment forbids federal officials from acting with a discriminatory

24

intent or purpose. See United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675, 2695 (2013); Bolling v. Sharpe, 347

25

U.S. 497, 500 (1954).

26

150.

To succeed on an equal protection claim, plaintiffs must show that the defendants

27

“discriminated against them as members of an identifiable class and that the discrimination was

28

intentional.” Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified Sch. Dist., 324 F.3d 1130, 1134 (9th Cir. 2003) (citation

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1

omitted). “Determining whether invidious discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor demands a

2

sensitive inquiry into such circumstantial and direct evidence of intent as may be available.” Vill. of

3

Arlington Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 266 (1977). “The court analyzes

4

whether a discriminatory purpose motivated the defendant by examining the events leading up to the

5

challenged decision and the legislative history behind it, the defendant’s departure from normal

6

procedures or substantive conclusions, and the historical background of the decision and whether it

7

creates a disparate impact.” Avenue 6E Invs., LLC v. City of Yuma, Ariz., 818 F.3d 493, 504 (9th Cir.

8

2016).

9

151.

As set forth above, the termination of DACA was motivated by improper

10

discriminatory intent and bias against Mexican nationals, individuals of Mexican descent, and

11

Latinos, who together account for 93 percent of approved DACA applications.

12

152.

President Trump has a history of tweets, campaign speeches, debate responses, and

13

other statements alleging that Mexican and Latino immigrants are rapists, criminals, and otherwise

14

bad people. Moreover, shortly before terminating DACA, President Trump pardoned former

15

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a criminal contempt of court conviction related to Sheriff

16

Arpaio’s discriminatory practices against Latinos, asserting that the Sheriff had been convicted of

17

contempt merely for “doing his job.”

18
19
20

153.

President Trump’s statements and actions, including the termination of the DACA

program, appealed to voters who harbor hostility toward Mexican and Latino immigrants.
154.

The government did not follow its normal procedures in reversing course and

21

terminating the DACA program. In 2014, the OLC concluded, after conducting a detailed analysis,

22

that DACA was a lawful exercise of the Executive Branch’s discretion. The government has made

23

similar arguments to the Supreme Court. By contrast, Attorney General Sessions’s one-page letter

24

to Acting Secretary Duke contained virtually no legal analysis, and Acting Secretary Duke’s

25

Rescission Memorandum relied largely on Attorney General Sessions’s letter.

26

155.

There are many strong policy reasons to maintain the DACA program. DACA has

27

provided the government with enormous benefits, including an efficient allocation of immigration

28

enforcement resources. DACA has also provided enormous benefits to American businesses and the

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1

broader economy. And DACA has helped communities throughout the United States, who are able

2

to benefit from the talents and contributions of DACA recipients.

3

156.

DACA is a promise from the government to DACA recipients and those who rely

4

on them. Separate from the policy rationales set forth above, the government is obligated to honor

5

its commitments under the DACA program.

6

157.

The government continues to operate programs that benefit other groups of

7

immigrants. Because Mexicans and Latinos account for 93 percent of approved DACA

8

applications, they will be disproportionately impacted by the termination of the DACA program.

9

158.

The history, procedure, substance, context, and impact of the decision to terminate

10

DACA demonstrate that the decision was motivated by discriminatory animus against Mexican and

11

Latino immigrants. Because it was motivated by a discriminatory purpose, the decision to terminate

12

DACA violates the equal protection guarantee of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

13

159.

Defendants’ violations have caused ongoing harm to Plaintiffs and other Dreamers.

14

THIRD COUNT

15

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT – CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS

16

160.

17
18

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
161.

Defendants are subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). See 5 U.S.C.

19

§ 703. The termination of the DACA program is final agency action subject to judicial review

20

because it marks the “consummation of the . . . decisionmaking process” and is one “from which

21

legal consequences will flow.” Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 178 (1997) (internal quotation marks

22

omitted).

23

162.

The “comprehensive” scope of the APA provides a “default” “remed[y] for all

24

interactions between individuals and all federal agencies.” W. Radio Servs. Co. v. U.S. Forest Serv.,

25

578 F.3d 1116, 1123 (9th Cir. 2009).

26

163.

The APA requires that courts “shall . . . hold unlawful and set aside agency action,

27

findings, and conclusions found to be . . . not in accordance with law . . . [or] contrary to

28

constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), (B).

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1
2

164.

For the reasons set forth above, the decision to terminate the DACA program is

unconstitutional in numerous respects and therefore must be vacated.

3

FOURTH COUNT

4

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT – ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS ACTION

5
6
7

165.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
166.

Defendants are subject to the APA. See 5 U.S.C. § 703. The termination of the

8

DACA program is final agency action subject to judicial review because it marks the “consummation

9

of the . . . decisionmaking process” and is one “from which legal consequences will flow.” Bennett,

10
11
12
13

520 U.S. at 178 (internal quotation marks omitted).
167.

The “comprehensive” scope of the APA provides a “default” “remed[y] for all

interactions between individuals and all federal agencies.” W. Radio Servs. Co., 578 F.3d at 1123.
168.

The APA requires that courts “shall . . . hold unlawful and set aside agency action,

14

findings, and conclusions found to be . . . arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise

15

not in accordance with law” or “without observance of procedure required by law.” 5 U.S.C.

16

§ 706(2)(A), (E).

17

169.

In creating DACA, the government promised Plaintiffs that if they stepped forward,

18

shared highly sensitive personal information, and passed a background check, they would be granted

19

renewable protection and would be allowed to live and work in the United States as long as they

20

played by the rules. The government also specifically and consistently promised that information

21

disclosed through the DACA program would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes

22

outside certain limited circumstances.

23

170.

Plaintiffs and nearly 800,000 vulnerable young people reasonably relied on the

24

government’s assurances and promises in taking the irreversible step of identifying themselves and

25

providing the government with highly sensitive and potentially compromising personal information.

26

DACA recipients also made numerous life-altering personal and professional decisions in reliance on

27

the government’s promises regarding DACA.

28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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171.

A government decision reversing a prior policy is “arbitrary and capricious” when it

2

fails “tak[e] into account” these types of “serious reliance interests.” Perez v. Mortg. Bankers Ass’n,

3

135 S. Ct. 1199, 1209 (2015).

4

172.

The government’s disregard for the reasonable reliance of Plaintiffs and hundreds of

5

thousands of other vulnerable young people is the hallmark of arbitrary and capricious action and an

6

abuse of discretion, and the decision to terminate the DACA program is therefore in violation of the

7

APA and must be vacated.

8
9

173.

The government’s decision to terminate the DACA program is also arbitrary and

capricious because the purported rationale for that decision is inconsistent with DHS’s new

10

policy. See Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29,

11

55–56 (1983) (holding that the agency “failed to offer the rational connection between facts and

12

judgment required to pass muster under the arbitrary capricious standard”). In particular, the

13

government terminated DACA because it purportedly concluded that the Executive Branch lacks

14

authority to continue the program, yet DHS will continue to adjudicate pending DACA applications,

15

as well as renewal applications it receives before October 5, 2017 (for individuals whose benefits

16

expire before March 5, 2018), thereby extending DACA for an additional two and a half years.

17

174.

The government’s decision to set an October 5, 2017 deadline for accepting DACA

18

renewal applications is also arbitrary. The Rescission Memorandum does not provide a reasoned

19

analysis to support this short deadline, and the government has failed to provide sufficient time and

20

notice to DACA recipients. On information and belief, the government has sent false and misleading

21

renewal notices to certain DACA recipients, which have failed to advise them of the October 5, 2017

22

deadline. Moreover, this short deadline is especially troubling for low-income DACA recipients,

23

who have little time to gather the significant funds required to submit a DACA renewal application.

24

175.

Moreover, the decision to terminate DACA is also arbitrary and capricious because

25

the government itself previously determined that DACA is a lawful exercise of the Executive

26

Branch’s immigration enforcement authority, and the government failed to conduct or provide a

27

reasoned analysis for its change of policy. See Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n v. Burford, 871 F.2d 849, 855

28

(9th Cir. 1989) (“a shift from settled policy requires a showing of reasoned analysis”).

Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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1
2

176.

The government’s decision to terminate DACA is also in violation of the APA

because the stated rationale for ending the program is pretextual and incorrect as a matter of law.

3

FIFTH COUNT

4

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT – NOTICE-AND-COMMENT RULEMAKING

5
6
7
8
9

177.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
178.

The APA, 5 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 706(2)(D), requires that federal agencies conduct

rulemaking before engaging in action that impacts substantive rights.
179.

DHS is an “agency” under the APA, and the Rescission Memorandum and the

10

actions that DHS has taken to implement the Rescission Memorandum are “rules” under the APA.

11

See 5 U.S.C. § 551(1), (4).

12

180.

In implementing the Rescission Memorandum, federal agencies have changed the

13

substantive criteria by which individual DACA grantees work, live, attend school, obtain credit, and

14

travel in the United States. Defendants did not follow the procedures required by the APA before

15

taking action impacting these substantive rights.

16
17
18
19
20
21
22

181.

With exceptions that are not applicable here, agency rules must go through notice-

and-comment rulemaking. See 5 U.S.C. § 553.
182.

Defendants promulgated and implemented these rules without authority and without

notice-and-comment rulemaking in violation of the APA.
183.

Plaintiffs will be impacted because they have not had the opportunity to comment on

the rescission of DACA.
184.

Defendants’ violation has caused ongoing harm to Plaintiffs and other Dreamers.

23

SIXTH COUNT

24

REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT – REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSES

25
26

185.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.

27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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186.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 601–12 (“RFA”), requires federal

2

agencies to analyze the impact of rules they promulgate on small entities and publish initial and final

3

versions of those analyses for public comment. 5 U.S.C. §§ 603–04.

4
5
6
7

187.

“Small entit[ies]” for purposes of the RFA includes “small organization[s]” and

“small business[es].” See 5 U.S.C. §§ 601(3), (4), (6).
188.

The actions that DHS has taken to implement the DHS Memorandum are “rules”

under the RFA. See 5 U.S.C. § 601(2).

8

189.

Defendants have not issued the required analyses of DHS’s new rules.

9

190.

Defendants’ failure to issue the initial and final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses

10
11

violates the RFA and is unlawful.
191.

Defendants’ violations cause ongoing harm to Plaintiffs and other Dreamers.

12

SEVENTH COUNT

13

EQUITABLE ESTOPPEL

14
15
16

192.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
193.

Through its conduct and statements, the government represented to Plaintiffs and

17

other DACA applicants that DACA was lawful and that information collected in connection with the

18

DACA program would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes absent special

19

circumstances.

20

194.

In reliance on the government’s repeated assurances, Plaintiffs and other DACA

21

applicants risked removal and deportation and came forward and identified themselves to the

22

government, and provided sensitive personal information, including their fingerprints and personal

23

history, in order to participate in DACA.

24

195.

Throughout the life of DACA, the government has continued to make affirmative

25

representations about the use of information as well as the validity and legality of DACA. Plaintiffs

26

and other DACA applicants relied on the government’s continuing representations to their detriment.

27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

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196.

DACA beneficiaries rearranged their lives to become fully visible and contributing

2

members of society, including by seeking employment, pursuing higher education, and paying taxes,

3

but are now at real risk of removal and deportation.

4

197.

Accordingly, Defendants should be equitably estopped from terminating the DACA

5

program or from using information provided pursuant to DACA for immigration enforcement

6

purposes, except as previously authorized under DACA.

7
8

198.

An actual controversy between Plaintiffs and Defendants exists as to whether

Defendants should be equitably estopped.

9

199.

Plaintiffs are entitled to a declaration that Defendants are equitably estopped.

10

EIGHTH COUNT

11

DECLARATORY JUDGMENT THAT DACA IS LAWFUL

12
13

200.

Plaintiffs repeat and incorporate by reference each and every allegation contained in

the preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.

14

201.

The DACA program was a lawful exercise of the Executive Branch’s discretion to

15

enforce the immigration laws. Indeed, after performing a thorough analysis, the government itself

16

concluded that DACA was lawful.87 However, the government now claims, as the basis for its

17

rescission of the program, that DACA is unlawful.88

18

202.

The Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, allows the court, “[i]n a case of

19

actual controversy within its jurisdiction,” to “declare the rights and other legal relations of any

20

interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought.”

21

28 U.S.C. § 2201(a).

22

203.

As DACA beneficiaries, Plaintiffs have an interest in the legality of the DACA

23

program. The government’s decision to terminate DACA on the purported basis that the DACA

24

program was unlawful has harmed Plaintiffs and continues to cause ongoing harm to Plaintiffs.

25
87

26
27
28
Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

88

See Dep’t of Homeland Sec.’s Auth. to Prioritize Removal of Certain Aliens Unlawfully Present
in the U.S. & to Defer Removal of Others, 2014 WL 10788677 (Op. O.L.C. Nov. 19, 2014).
See Memorandum from Acting Secretary Elaine C. Duke, Rescission of the June 15, 2012
Memorandum Entitled “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who
Came to the United States as Children” (Sept. 5, 2017),
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/memorandum-rescission-daca.
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204.

There is an actual controversy regarding whether the DACA program is lawful.

2

205.

Plaintiffs are entitled to a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) that

3

the DACA program was lawful and is lawful today.

4
5
6

PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray that this Court grant the following relief:
(1)

7
8

lawful and constitutional;
(2)

9
10

Issue a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) that the DACA program is

Issue a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) and 5 U.S.C. § 706(2) that
the termination of the DACA program was unlawful and unconstitutional;

(3)

Issue a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) that Defendants are

11

equitably estopped from terminating the DACA program or from using information

12

provided pursuant to DACA for immigration enforcement purposes, except as previously

13

authorized under the program;

14

(4)

15
16

Issue an injunction invalidating the Rescission Memorandum, preserving the status quo,
and enjoining Defendants from terminating the DACA program;

(5)

Issue an injunction enjoining Defendants from sharing or otherwise using information

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provided pursuant to the DACA program for immigration enforcement purposes except as

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previously authorized under the DACA program; and

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(6)

Grant any other and further relief that this Court may deem just and proper.

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DATED: September 18, 2017
San Francisco, California

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr.
GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP
/s/ Mark D. Rosenbaum
PUBLIC COUNSEL
/s/ Luis Cortes Romero
BARRERA LEGAL GROUP, PLLC
/s/ Laurence H. Tribe

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Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
43

Case 3:17-cv-05380 Document 1 Filed 09/18/17 Page 46 of 46

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/s/ Erwin Chemerinsky
/s/ Leah Litman

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs DULCE GARCIA,
MIRIAM GONZALEZ AVILA, SAUL JIMENEZ
SUAREZ, VIRIDIANA CHABOLLA MENDOZA
NORMA RAMIREZ, and JIRAYUT
LATTHIVONGSKORN

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Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher LLP

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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