`
`Nos. 18-587, 18-588, 18-589
`IN THE
`Supreme Court of the United States
`____________________
`DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL.,
`Petitioners,
`v.
`REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, ET AL.,
`
`
`
`
`Respondents.
`____________________
`On Writ of Certiorari to the
`United States Court of Appeals
` for the Ninth Circuit
`____________________
`BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE 109 CITIES,
`COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES, AND LOCAL
`GOVERNMENT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS
`IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS
`____________________
`MICHAEL N. FEUER
`MARGARET L. CARTER
`DANIEL R. SUVOR
` City Attorney
`JAMES P. CLARK
`DIMITRI D. PORTNOI
`VALERIE L. FLORES
`DANIEL J. TULLY
`DANIELLE GOLDSTEIN
`O’MELVENY & MYERS LLP
`MICHAEL DUNDAS
`400 South Hope Street
` Counsel of Record
`18th Floor
`200 N. Main Street
`Los Angeles, CA 90071
`Los Angeles, CA 90012
`(213) 430-6000
`(213) 978-8100
`
`mike.dundas@lacity.org
`
`
`
`Counsel for Amicus Curiae
`Counsel for Amicus Curiae
`City of Los Angeles, Calif.
`County of Los Angeles, Calif.
`[Additional Captions Listed On Inside Cover]
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
`ET AL.,
`
`Petitioners,
`v.
`NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF
`COLORED PEOPLE, ET AL.,
`
`
`Respondents.
`____________________
`On Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment to the
`United States Court of Appeals
` for the District of Columbia Circuit
`____________________
`KEVIN K. MCALEENAN, ACTING SECRETARY OF
`HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL.,
`Petitioners,
`v.
`MARTIN JONATHAN BATALLA VIDAL, ET AL.,
`
`
`
`
`Respondents.
`____________________
`On Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment to the
`United States Court of Appeals
` for the Second Circuit
`____________________
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`i
`QUESTIONS PRESENTED
`In 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security an-
`nounced a policy that would provide a temporary
`forbearance of removal for certain undocumented
`immigrants who unwittingly entered the United
`States as children. Known as Deferred Action for
`Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program allows such
`noncitizens to receive a renewable two-year term of
`deferred action—a form of prosecutorial discretion
`whereby the government declines to pursue remov-
`al—if they have no criminal record and satisfy vari-
`ous educational or military service requirements.
`Under longstanding federal regulations, any person
`subject to deferred action, including DACA recipi-
`ents, may apply for government work authorization.
`In the seven years since DACA was implemented,
`more than 800,000 young people throughout the
`country have applied for and received deferred ac-
`tion. In September 2017, the Department of Home-
`land Security (DHS) announced that it would rescind
`DACA because it believed the program was unlawful
`and would likely be struck down by the courts.
`The questions presented are:
`1. Whether DHS’s decision to rescind DACA is
`judicially reviewable.
`2. Whether DHS’s decision to rescind DACA is
`unlawful.
`
`
`
`
`
`ii
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`II.
`
`Page(s)
`STATEMENT OF INTEREST .................................. 1
`INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 4
`ARGUMENT ............................................................. 6
`DACA Recipients Represent the
`I.
`Best of Amici’s Communities. ............. 6
`Rescinding DACA Harms Amici’s
`Young People and Communities. ...... 10
`A. Rescinding DACA Will Harm the
`Economy. ............................................ 11
`B. Rescinding DACA Will
`Undermine Amici’s Public Safety
`Priorities. ........................................... 14
`III. Petitioners’ Purported Rescission
`of DACA is Unlawful. ........................ 16
`A. Petitioners Did Not Adequately
`Consider the Harm of Repealing
`DACA. ................................................ 18
`B. Post-Hoc Rationalizations Do Not
`Insulate Petitioners’ Decision
`From Review or Render it
`Lawful. ............................................... 26
`CONCLUSION ........................................................ 38
`APPENDIX ............................................................. 1a
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`iii
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`
`Page(s)
`
`CASES
`Block v. Cmty. Nutrition Inst.,
`467 U.S. 340 (1984) ............................................ 33
`Bowen v. Mich. Acad. of Family Physicians,
`476 U.S. 667 (1986) ............................................ 28
`Camp v. Pitts,
`411 U.S. 138 (1973) ................................. 33, 35, 37
`Citizens to Pres. Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe,
`401 U.S. 402 (1971) ........................... 24, 28, 32, 35
`Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro,
`136 S. Ct. 2117 (2016) ................................. passim
`FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.,
`556 U.S. 502 (2009) ........................... 18, 20, 22, 25
`FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.,
`529 U.S. 120 (2000) ............................................ 36
`Food Mktg. Inst. v. ICC,
`587 F.2d 1285 (D.C. Cir. 1978) .....................34, 37
`Franklin v. Massachusetts,
`505 U.S. 788 (1992) ............................................ 33
`Heckler v. Chaney,
`470 U.S. 821 (1985) .......................................28, 29
`Hilton v. S.C. Pub. Rys. Comm’n,
`502 U.S. 197 (1991) ............................................ 25
`ICC v. Bhd. of Locomotive Eng’rs,
`482 U.S. 270 (1987) ............................................ 31
`Judulang v. Holder,
`565 U.S. 42 (2011) .........................................18, 27
`Landgraf v. USI Film Prods.,
`511 U.S. 244 (1994) ............................................ 25
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`iv
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page(s)
`
`Michigan v. EPA,
`135 S. Ct. 2699 (2015) ...................................18, 27
`Mont. Air Chapter No. 29 v. Fed. Labor
`Relations Auth.,
`898 F.2d 753 (9th Cir. 1990) .............................. 30
`Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. v.
`State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
`463 U.S. 29 (1983) ................................... 18, 20, 35
`Nat’l Lifeline Ass’n v. FCC,
`921 F.3d 1102 (D.C. Cir. 2019) .......................... 25
`OSG Bulk Ships, Inc. v. United States,
`132 F.3d 808 (D.C. Cir. 1998) ............................ 30
`Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. LTV Corp.,
`496 U.S. 633 (1990) ................................. 32, 34, 35
`Perez v. Mortg. Bankers Ass’n,
`135 S. Ct. 1199 (2015) ...................................22, 24
`SEC v. Chenery Corp.,
`318 U.S. 80 (1943) ............................. 27, 33, 34, 37
`Smiley v. Citibank (S.D.), N.A.,
`517 U.S. 735 (1996) ............................................ 25
`Texas v. United States,
`809 F.3d 134 (5th Cir. 2015) .............................. 19
`Util. Air Regulatory Grp. v. EPA,
`573 U.S. 302 (2014) ............................................ 36
`STATUTES
`5 U.S.C. § 601 .......................................................... 22
`5 U.S.C. § 603 .......................................................... 22
`5 U.S.C. § 604 .......................................................... 22
`5 U.S.C. § 701 .......................................................... 28
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`v
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page(s)
`8 U.S.C. § 1324a ...................................................... 37
`REGULATIONS
`8 C.F.R. § 274.12 ..................................................... 37
`RULES
`Sup. Ct. R. 37.3(a) ..................................................... 1
`Sup. Ct. R. 37.6 ......................................................... 1
`OTHER AUTHORITIES
`Alex Nowrasteh, Don’t End DACA: The
`Immigration Program Trump Must
`Save, N.Y. Post (Aug. 31, 2017) ......................... 11
`Barry Moreno, Children of Ellis Island
`(2005) .................................................................... 4
`George White, Teachers Who Are DACA
`Recipients Help Ease Anxiety of
`Undocumented Students, EdSource
`(Sept. 15, 2017) .................................................... 9
`Gregory Korte, et al., Trump
`Administration Struggles with Fate
`of 900 DREAMers Serving in the
`Military, USA Today (Sept. 7, 2017) ................... 8
`John Burnett, New Immigration
`Crackdowns Creating ‘Chilling
`Effect’ on Crime Reporting, Nat’l
`Pub. Radio (May 25, 2017) ................................ 14
`Julia Wick, L.A.-Area DACA Recipients
`Contribute Approximately $5.5 Billion
`Annually to Economy, Chamber
`Estimates, LAist (Sept. 21, 2017) ...................... 11
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`vi
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page(s)
`
`L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell’s
`Statement About Senate Bill 54
`Regarding Immigration, The Signal
`(Sept. 16, 2017) .................................................. 15
`Michelangelo Landgrave & Alex
`Nowrasteh, The DREAMer
`Incarceration Rate, Cato Institute
`(Aug. 30, 2017) ................................................... 15
`Nik Theodore, Dep’t of Urban Planning &
`Policy, Univ. of Ill. at Chi., Insecure
`Communities: Latino Perceptions of
`Police Involvement in Immigration
`Enforcement (2013) ........................................... 15
`Office of the Press Sec’y, Remarks by
`the President on Immigration (June
`15, 2012) ............................................................. 21
`Randy Capps et al., Migration Policy
`Inst., Delegation and Divergence: A
`Study of 287(g) State and Local
`Immigration Enforcement (2011) ...................... 15
`Roberto G. Gonzales & Angie M.
`Bautista-Chavez, Am. Immigration
`Council, Two Years and Counting:
`Assessing the Growing Power of
`DACA (June 2014) ............................................. 10
`Samantha Schmidt, A ‘Dreamer’ Dies
`Trying to Save Harvey Victims, Days
`Before Trump Plans to End DACA,
`Wash. Post (Sept. 5, 2017) ................................. 10
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`vii
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page(s)
`
`Scott R. Baker, Effects of Immigrant
`Legalization on Crime: The 1986
`Immigration Reform and Control
`Act, Stanford Law and Econ. Olin
`Working Paper (July 28, 2014) .......................... 14
`Silva Mathema, Ending DACA Will
`Cost States Billions of Dollars, Ctr.
`for Am. Progress (Jan. 9, 2017) ......................... 12
`State & Local Tax Contributions of
`Young Undocumented Immigrants,
`Inst. on Taxation & Econ. Policy
`(Apr. 30, 2018) .................................................... 11
`Tom K. Wong et al., DACA Recipients’
`Economic and Educational Gains
`Continue to Grow, Ctr. for Am.
`Progress (Aug. 28, 2017) ................................ 2, 12
`Tom K. Wong et al., Results from Tom
`K. Wong et al., 2017 National DACA
`Study (2017) ................................................... 7, 10
`U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Letter by
`Secretary Jeh Johnson to U.S.
`Representative Judy Chu (Dec. 30,
`2016) ................................................................... 21
`U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec.,
`Memorandum from Secretary Janet
`Napolitano on Exercising
`Prosecutorial Discretion with
`Respect to Individuals Who Came to
`the United States as Children (June
`15, 2012) ............................................................. 21
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`viii
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page(s)
`
`U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Secretary
`Napolitano Announces Deferred
`Action Process for Young People
`Who Are Low Enforcement
`Priorities (June 15, 2012) .................................... 7
`U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Attorney General
`Sessions Delivers Remarks on
`DACA (Sept. 5, 2017) ......................................... 14
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`STATEMENT OF INTEREST1
`Amici Curiae are 109 cities, towns, counties, and
`municipal organizations.2 Amici come from every
`corner of the country: from rural farming communi-
`ties to industrial cities to large, urban metropolises.
`Amici represent a broad, bi-partisan cross-section of
`American cities and counties with a wide spectrum
`of economic, political, and cultural perspectives.
`They include the most populous and diverse cities
`and counties in the United States, as well as juris-
`dictions of more modest size. Individuals of every
`race, ethnicity, culture, and creed call amici home.
`
`
`1 The parties have consented in writing to the filing of this
`brief, and their letters of consent have been filed with the
`Clerk. See Sup. Ct. R. 37.3(a). No party’s counsel authored
`this brief in whole or in part, and no person or entity other than
`amici or their counsel made a monetary contribution intended
`to fund the preparation or submission of this brief. See Sup. Ct.
`R. 37.6.
`2 A complete list of amici is provided as Appendix A. Ami-
`ci include four non-partisan advocacy organizations charged
`with representing the interests of the nation’s cities, towns, and
`villages. The National League of Cities advocates for 19,000
`cities, towns, and villages, representing more than 218 million
`Americans. The United States Conference of Mayors repre-
`sents the country’s 1,408 cities with populations of over 30,000.
`The International Municipal Lawyers Association is a profes-
`sional organization consisting of more than 2,500 local govern-
`ment member entities represented by their chief legal officers,
`state municipal leagues, and individual attorneys. The Inter-
`national City/County Management Association is an associa-
`tion of 12,000 city, town, and county managers who oversee the
`daily operations of the local governments they serve.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`2
`important differences exist between
`Though
`them, amici share a common interest in building
`communities where all residents, regardless of im-
`migration status, feel safe and empowered to partic-
`ipate in civic life. At their core, local governments
`exist to provide for the health (e.g., public hospitals),
`safety (e.g., police departments and county sheriffs),
`and welfare (e.g., social services agencies) of their
`residents. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arri-
`vals (DACA) program directly benefits the health,
`safety and welfare of all of our residents, by encour-
`aging DACA recipients to openly participate in their
`communities and interact with local government
`without fear.
`Before the program was instituted, many DACA
`recipients feared the basic tasks of everyday life, like
`going to work, attending school and church, or simp-
`ly buying groceries. Many recipients with American
`citizen children3 stuck Post-it notes to their refriger-
`ators before they left for the day, instructing their
`children whom to call in case “Mom and Dad” did not
`come home. These fears are precisely why DACA
`was created: to both focus limited immigration en-
`forcement resources on the removal of serious crimi-
`nals and to enable young people to contribute to
`their communities.
`
`
`3 A 2017 study by the Center for American Progress found
`that 25% of DACA recipients have at least one child who is an
`American citizen. Tom K. Wong et al., DACA Recipients’ Eco-
`nomic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow, Ctr. for Am.
`Progress (Aug. 28, 2017), https://perma.cc/JT3D-6TVR.
`
`
`
`
`
`3
`Amici will suffer substantial harm if DACA is
`terminated. More than 12% of all active DACA re-
`cipients live in the Los Angeles metro area alone.4
`Another 22% reside in the New York, Dallas, Chica-
`go, or Houston metro regions, while 10% of recipi-
`ents currently make their homes in Phoenix, Atlan-
`ta, the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego, or Den-
`ver.5 All told, 60% of current DACA recipients—
`nearly 400,000 individuals—live in amici’s commu-
`nities.6
`These individuals—most of whom arrived in the
`United States as children—are no different than the
`tens of millions of people who live and work along-
`side them in amici’s cities and counties. DACA re-
`cipients have made enormous contributions to our
`communities and to our country. They attend our
`local schools where they study to become our newest
`doctors, nurses, and lawyers. As entrepreneurs,
`they build businesses that revitalize local economies.
`As teachers, they shape the next generation of lead-
`ers. As civil servants, they assist and transform the
`communities that they call home. Without deferred
`action, none of these contributions would be possible.
`
`4 Figures are based on recipients’ residency in a Core Based
`Statistical Area, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management
`and Budget, at the time of their most recent DACA application.
`See Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec.,
`No. 3:17-cv-05211-WHA, Dkt. 292-2, U.S. Citizenship and Im-
`migration Services DACA Data as of September 30, 2019 (N.D.
`Cal. Oct. 1, 2019).
`5 Id.
`6 Id.
`
`
`
`
`
`4
`Amici are stronger and safer because of the DACA
`program.
`As history teaches, our collective success depends
`on the contributions of all members of society. Our
`nation’s and amici’s civic, cultural, and economic
`prosperity in the 20th Century was aided in no small
`part by the contributions of immigrants, many of
`whom arrived in the United States as children.7 And
`our future progress is tied to the full participation of
`such individuals, including the 800,000 young people
`who have received deferred action under the DACA
`program. The rescission of DACA jeopardizes ami-
`ci’s interests by harming tens of thousands of DACA
`recipients in amici’s communities.
`INTRODUCTION
`Each day, more than 650,000 DACA recipients
`work to make the world a better place. They are ed-
`ucators, administrators, social workers, firefighters,
`police officers, soldiers, scientists, engineers, entre-
`preneurs, artists, journalists, service workers, and
`civic leaders. They make their communities—our
`communities—safe and prosperous.
`Since its inception, DACA has allowed more than
`800,000 hardworking individuals to reach their full
`potential. The program, which reduces recipients’
`fear of removal and allows them the opportunity to
`work for renewable two-year terms, has empowered
`recipients to participate fully in their communities.
`These individuals are as much part of the American
`
`7 See Barry Moreno, Children of Ellis Island (2005).
`
`
`
`
`
`5
`fabric that binds us together as are their neighbors
`with lawful immigration status.
`The rescission of DACA in the Department of
`Homeland Security’s (DHS) September 5, 2017
`Memorandum (September Memorandum) tears at
`that fabric. Petitioners’ decision to rescind DACA is
`a violation of trust that forces hundreds of thousands
`of participants back into lives of fear. Keeping tal-
`ented young people at the margins threatens to rob
`amici and the nation of their promise. It is anathe-
`ma to amici, as it undermines their shared interest
`in empowering all residents to participate in public
`life. Amici therefore request that the Court affirm
`the judgments of the Ninth Circuit and the District
`Court for the District of Columbia, and the orders of
`the Eastern District of New York.
`Amici submit this brief to inform the Court of the
`profound impact that DACA recipients have had on
`amici and to highlight the consequences that rescis-
`sion of DACA will have on amici, our communities,
`and our residents. Amici also write to address two
`discrete legal issues—Petitioners’ failure to ade-
`quately consider reliance interests in the September
`Memorandum, and Petitioners’ attempted post-hoc
`rationalization of their decision to rescind DACA.
`Given the significant harm to amici and their resi-
`dents from the rescission, Petitioners’ failure to ana-
`lyze participants’ reliance interests and the harm to
`society at large is alarmingly inadequate. Their at-
`tempt to use after-the-fact explanations to prevent
`the courts from redressing these harms is equally
`deficient, and was correctly rejected by the courts
`below.
`
`
`
`
`
`6
`As all amici recognize, our shared future is
`brighter when opportunities for success are available
`to all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gen-
`der, or immigration status. DACA recipients have
`used these opportunities for seven years to strength-
`en amici’s communities, and should not now have
`those opportunities taken from them. And their
`neighbors, coworkers, employers, and local govern-
`ments should not be denied the countless contribu-
`tions that DACA recipients have made and will con-
`tinue to make to our country.
`ARGUMENT
`I. DACA Recipients Represent the Best of
`Amici’s Communities.
`When DACA was first announced, then-DHS Sec-
`retary Janet Napolitano and current President of
`Respondent University of California, explained:
`Our nation’s immigration laws must
`be enforced in a firm and sensible
`manner. But they are not designed to
`be blindly enforced without considera-
`tion given to the individual circum-
`stances of each case. Nor are they de-
`signed to remove productive young
`people to countries where they may
`not have lived or even speak the lan-
`guage. Discretion, which is used in so
`
`
`
`
`
`7
`many other areas, is especially justi-
`fied here.8
`Amici agree: our best interests are advanced by
`educating and empowering our next generation of
`leaders, not by tearing students out of their schools
`and uprooting industrious individuals from their
`communities. For the last seven years, DACA has
`advanced our best interests, and amici have wit-
`nessed hundreds of thousands of young people
`emerge from the margins to lead productive, exem-
`plary lives.
`DACA has allowed recipients to pursue higher
`education, enhancing their economic productivity
`and enriching their lives and futures.9
`For example, Jin Kyu Park arrived in New York
`City at the age of seven from South Korea. He ex-
`celled in his studies and matriculated at Harvard.
`As an undergraduate in Cambridge, Jin Kyu worked
`as a research assistant at the Koch Institute for In-
`tegrative Cancer Research at MIT, served as the
`managing editor of the Harvard Undergraduate Re-
`search Journal, directed the Phillips Brooks House
`Association’s Chinatown Citizenship program, and
`founded a nonprofit to help other undocumented
`
`8 Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Secretary Napolitano Announces
`Deferred Action Process for Young People Who Are Low En-
`forcement Priorities (June 15, 2012), https://perma.cc/94JC-
`2293.
`9 Tom K. Wong et al., Results from Tom K. Wong et al.,
`2017 National DACA Study 3 (2017), https://perma.cc/R2J8-
`D57W.
`
`
`
`
`
`8
`students. Last November, he became the first DACA
`recipient ever to become a Rhodes Scholar. After
`completing his studies at Oxford, Jin Kyu plans to
`become a doctor so that he can serve immigrant
`communities like the one where he grew up in
`Queens.
`Many recipients share similar stories. DACA al-
`lowed Nelson Magdaleno, who was brought to the
`United States from Venezuela as a child, to attend
`Georgia Tech University, one of the nation’s top en-
`gineering schools. Nelson graduated with honors
`and has been working in Dallas as an engineer at
`Texas Instruments since his graduation. Herta
`Llusho arrived in Detroit from Albania at the age of
`eleven. She worked tirelessly through high school
`and college, ultimately receiving a Master’s Degree
`in robotics and automation engineering. Herta now
`works as a supervising engineer at Ford Motor Com-
`pany, and regularly volunteers at her church and in
`her community.
`Armed with their high school degrees, college de-
`grees, and the other building blocks of modern life,
`recipients have gone on to strengthen their commu-
`nities by dedicating themselves to them. Hundreds
`have protected our country by serving in the military
`as part of a Pentagon pilot program.10 Thousands of
`recipients, like Chicagoan Cynthia Sanchez and Aus-
`
`
`10 Gregory Korte, et al., Trump Administration Struggles
`with Fate of 900 DREAMers Serving in the Military, USA To-
`day (Sept. 7, 2017), https://perma.cc/EH4W-2DSL.
`
`
`
`
`
`9
`tinite Karen Reyes, have taken up teaching, often in
`underserved communities of color.11
`Others have made lasting impacts in the arts.
`Yehimi Cambrón, an art teacher and artist from At-
`lanta, paints murals with imagery that evoke sur-
`vival, opportunity, and other common themes of the
`immigrant experience. In the classroom, she teaches
`her high school students how to find expression and
`empowerment in art. Last year, the Atlanta Super-
`bowl LIII Host Committee commissioned Yehimi to
`create three murals that highlight Atlanta’s civil
`rights and social justice journey, a commission that
`would not have been possible without DACA.
`Bambadjan Bamba grew up in the South Bronx,
`worked to put himself through drama school, and
`now is a successful actor, appearing on NBC’s The
`Good Place, and in Disney’s Black Panther. Daniela
`Pierre-Bravo arrived in the United States from Chile
`at age 11. Today, she is a news producer for MSNBC
`and NBCUniversal in New York City and recently
`released a non-fiction motivational book with best-
`selling author Mika Brzezinski.
`Still others have made their mark through self-
`less sacrifice. In times of need or sorrow, congre-
`
`11 See George White, Teachers Who Are DACA Recipients
`Help Ease Anxiety of Undocumented Students, EdSource (Sept.
`15, 2017), https://perma.cc/PPJ2-KR3P. Although the exact
`number of DACA recipients employed as teachers is unknown,
`the Migration Policy Institute estimates that 20,000 “DACA-
`eligible” individuals are teachers, although some may have at-
`tained lawful status by other means. Id.
`
`
`
`
`
`10
`gants turn to the guidance of DACA-recipient Father
`Rey Pineda, a Catholic priest at Atlanta’s Cathedral
`of Christ the King. When emergencies have threat-
`ened families, friends, and neighbors, DACA recipi-
`ents have been among the first to answer the call.
`During Hurricane Harvey, Houston-area paramedic
`Jesus Contreras worked six straight days to rescue
`people from the storm. One DACA recipient, Alonso
`Guillén, was killed while trying to save fellow Tex-
`ans from perishing in rising floodwaters.12
`These stories and countless others highlight the
`lasting impact that the DACA program has had on
`recipients and on society at large. As amici look to
`the future, we cannot afford to let some of our best
`and brightest go.
`II. Rescinding DACA Harms Amici’s Young
`People and Communities.
`DACA has allowed recipients to live without fear
`and to better contribute to amici’s communities. It
`has drastically improved recipients’ lives, allowing
`them to obtain better jobs, more education, and im-
`proved access to vital services—like healthcare and
`driver’s licenses13—which allow them to better con-
`tribute to society. Petitioners’ decision to rescind
`
`12 Samantha Schmidt, A ‘Dreamer’ Dies Trying to Save
`Harvey Victims, Days Before Trump Plans to End DACA, Wash.
`Post (Sept. 5, 2017), https://perma.cc/YT2Q-9H7P.
`13 Roberto G. Gonzales & Angie M. Bautista-Chavez, Am.
`Immigration Council, Two Years and Counting: Assessing the
`Growing Power of DACA 9 (June 2014), https://perma.cc/K4RB-
`327Q; Wong, supra note 9.
`
`
`
`
`
`11
`DACA wrests from these young people the protec-
`tions that have allowed them to better their commu-
`nities. It will also directly harm amici, particularly
`their economies and public safety programs, which
`benefit from the open participation of nearly 400,000
`resident recipients.
`A. Rescinding DACA Will Harm the Econo-
`my.
`DACA recipients help drive amici’s economies. In
`Los Angeles alone, they are responsible for approxi-
`mately $5.5 billion of the annual GDP.14 Nationally,
`DACA recipients pay an estimated $1.7 billion in
`state and local taxes every year that go to fund criti-
`cal programs administered by amici.15
`DACA’s nationwide impact has been substantial.
`Adding DACA recipients to the workforce has gener-
`ated roughly $30 billion in new earnings, which, ac-
`cording to an op-ed from an analyst at the Cato In-
`stitute, “ha[d] a job-creating ripple effect on the
`economy.”16 Recipients have made profound econom-
`ic gains because of the DACA program. They have
`entered the work force, purchased their first homes,
`
`14 Julia Wick, L.A.-Area DACA Recipients Contribute Ap-
`proximately $5.5 Billion Annually to Economy, Chamber Esti-
`mates, LAist (Sept. 21, 2017), https://perma.cc/9VDJ-HEDB.
`15 State & Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented
`Immigrants, Inst. on Taxation & Econ. Policy (Apr. 30, 2018),
`https://perma.cc/WKL6-U2HJ.
`16 Alex Nowrasteh, Don’t End DACA: The Immigration Pro-
`gram Trump Must Save, N.Y. Post
`(Aug. 31, 2017),
`https://perma.cc/9LYT-8895.
`
`
`
`
`
`12
`and built businesses that have revitalized their
`communities. According to one representative sur-
`vey, 69% of employed DACA recipients moved to a
`higher-paying job while receiving deferred action,
`and 5% of recipients started a new business, a rate of
`entrepreneurship greater than among the general
`public.17 The same survey indicated that 50% of
`surveyed DACA recipients reported that they have
`bought a car since receiving deferred action and 12%
`have bought their first home, both of which are ma-
`jor economic drivers.18 Over the next decade, these
`workers and business owners are estimated to con-
`tribute more than $433 billion to the national GDP.19
`DHS’s decision to rescind DACA will thus have a
`clear deleterious effect on amici and the nation as a
`whole. One story illustrates what is at stake for
`DACA recipients and amici.
`Angelica Hernandez came to the United States at
`the age of nine with her mother. Growing up in
`Phoenix, she fell in love with robotics. While attend-
`ing Carl Hayden High School, Angelica was a mem-
`ber of a team of undocumented students that won a
`national underwater robotics competition, besting
`teams from other high schools and from elite engi-
`neering universities like MIT. Angelica’s passion for
`robotics led her to Arizona State University, where
`
`17 Wong, supra note 3.
`18 Id.
`19 Silva Mathema, Ending DACA Will Cost States Billions
`of Dollars, Ctr.
`for Am. Progress
`(Jan. 9, 2017),
`https://perma.cc/7NSZ-Y2L7.
`
`
`
`
`
`13
`she graduated summa cum laude, and then to Stan-
`ford, where she received a Master’s Degree in Civil
`and Environmental Engineering. Today she works
`as an engineer on clean energy and energy efficiency
`programs at Nexant, an energy company in the
`Phoenix area.
`Because of DACA, Angelica was able to discover a
`passion and pursue her dream career. But Angeli-
`ca’s other teammates were each too old to qualify for
`DACA. Of the Carl Hayden students, only Angelica
`works as an engineer. Contrast their story with
`those of the members of the MIT student team they
`defeated in competition. A decade after the competi-
`tion, three of the four MIT team members had gone
`onto successful careers in underwater robotics, with
`one working on a project in Antarctica, while the
`fourth MIT team member was working in product
`design for Apple, Inc.
`At a time when our country is facing a shortage of
`professionals in science, technology, engineering,
`and mathematics (STEM) fields, programs like
`DACA give certainty to young people who should not
`be enforcement priorities, enabling more of them to
`pursue passions that leave amici and the nation
`stronger. Petitioners’ rescission of DACA denies
`hundreds of thousands of recipients the opportunity
`to pursue their dreams and deprives amici of these
`young people’s promise.
`
`
`
`
`
`14
`B. Rescinding DACA Will Undermine Ami-
`ci’s Public Safety Priorities.
`DACA has helped make amici’s communities saf-
`er because recipients are able to cooperate more
`freely and effectively with law enforcement.
`When undocumented individuals fear interacting
`with law enforcement, it makes communities less
`safe and officers’ jobs more difficult. Law enforce-
`ment agencies report that, as immigration enforce-
`ment and the threat of deportation increase, undoc-
`umented immigrants are substantially less likely to
`report crimes, including violent crimes.20 One study
`estimates that granting legal status to 1% of undoc-
`umented immigrants in a county can lower crime
`rates there by 2 to 6%.21 Although then-Attorney
`General Sessions insinuated that DACA had “put
`our nation at risk of crime, violence and even terror-
`ism,”22 the facts show just the opposite.23
`
`20 John Burnett, New Immigration Crackdowns Creating
`‘Chilling Effect’ on Crime Reporting, Nat’l Pub. Radio (May 25,
`2017), https://perma
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