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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
University of California v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (and related cases) – U.S. Supreme Court (Case No. 18-587)

MEMBER(S) INVOLVED: Filed on behalf of all California school districts and county offices of education

IMPORTANCE OF STATEWIDE ISSUE:
Public schools in California are obligated to educate any and all students who enroll, regardless of immigration status. It was reported that uncertainty over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) had a “chilling effect” and discouraged some undocumented students from attending schools. Diminished attendance jeopardizes the ability of schools to prepare all students for the demands of the 21st century and success in college, career, and civic life. Additionally, ending DACA would exacerbate teacher shortages throughout the state, and would negatively affect the educational opportunities of students throughout California.
SUMMARY OF THE CASE:
Four lawsuits challenging the rescission of DACA proceeded together through the Northern District of California. The DACA program was implemented in 2012 and made work authorization and a renewable two-year reprieve from deportation available to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and met specific eligibility requirements. The federal administration announced in September 2017 that it would end the DACA program, and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) immediately stopped accepting DACA applications and attempted to cut off renewal applications 30 days later. At the time, there were approximately 222,795 DACA recipients in California, more than a quarter of the program’s total number of participants. According to the Migration Policy Institute, approximately 5,000 teachers in California were also DACA recipients. CSBA and the ELA were asked by member districts to sign onto an amicus brief in the consolidated DACA lawsuits identifying the challenges the rescission of DACA would create for students, schools, and governing boards in California.

Multiple lawsuits were filed throughout the country, including this case by the Regents of the University of California. On November 1, 2017, an amicus brief was filed before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of CSBA along with National Education Association, Association of California School Administrators, California Teachers Association, Berkeley USD, Moreno Valley USD, San Diego USD, West Contra Costa USD, Los Angeles County Board of Education, Los Angeles USD, Oakland USD, Sacramento City USD and other associations. In January 2018, the district court issued an injunction blocking the implementation of the decision to rescind DACA. The federal administration appealed. CSBA and the ELA joined another amicus brief filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 20, 2018. On November 8, 2018, the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s order requiring the government to keep the DACA program in place.

CURRENT STATUS AND/OR OUTCOME:
On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration could not immediately proceed with its plan to end the DACA program. While the decision was a significant victory for DACA recipients and K-12 schools, the decision was based on narrow administrative grounds and did not determine the legitimacy of the DACA program, thus leaving the door open to future efforts by an administration to end DACA.

The DACA program has continued to face myriad challenges since the Supreme Court’s decision. On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a memorandum reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to DACA. On July 16, 2021, in a separate lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where the State of Texas (joined by several additional states) sought complete termination of the DACA program, the district court issued a ruling finding that DACA is unlawful and blocked the DHS from approving any new, first-time DACA applications. On September 10, 2021, the Biden Administration appealed the decision. On September 28, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a proposed rule that would re-create the DACA program in federal regulation. Existing DACA recipients are allowed to renew their DACA status, but the program is currently closed for first-time applicants. The DACA program remains in a tenuous state, and the eventual outcome for DACA recipients and new DACA applicants in California remains unclear.

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