`
`Nos. 18-587, 18-588, and 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.
`
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States, et al.,
`Petitioners,
`
`v.
`NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE
`ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, et al.,
`Respondents.
`
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`KEVIN K. MCALEENAN,
`Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, et al.,
`Petitioners,
`
`v.
`MARTIN JONATHAN BATALLA VIDAL, et al.,
`Respondents.
`
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`On Writs Of Certiorari To The
`United States Courts Of Appeals For The Ninth,
`District Of Columbia, And Second Circuits
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`BRIEF OF TEACH FOR AMERICA, INC.
`AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF
`RESPONDENTS AND AFFIRMANCE
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`HARVEY L. ROCHMAN
`RONALD G. BLUM
` Counsel of Record
`ESRA A. HUDSON
`MICHAEL E. OLSEN
`JULIAN POLARIS
`MARIO CARDONA
`MANATT, PHELPS
` & PHILLIPS, LLP
`MANATT, PHELPS
` & PHILLIPS, LLP
`7 Times Square
`11355 W. Olympic Blvd.
`New York, NY 10036
`Los Angeles, CA 90064
`(212) 830-7186
`rblum@manatt.com
`
`================================================================================================================
`COCKLE LEGAL BRIEFS (800) 225-6964
`WWW.COCKLELEGALBRIEFS.COM
`
`
`
`
`
`i
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`2
`6
`
`Page
`INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE ........................
`1
`INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGU-
`MENT ..................................................................
`ARGUMENT ...........................................................
`
`I. THE APA REQUIRES AN AGENCY TO
`CONSIDER “SERIOUS RELIANCE IN-
`TERESTS” WHEN IMPLEMENTING A
`POLICY CHANGE .......................................
` II. DACA HAS ENGENDERED SERIOUS RE-
`LIANCE INTERESTS IN TEACH FOR
`AMERICA, TEACHERS, SCHOOLS, AND
`STUDENTS ..................................................
`A. DACA Freed Undocumented Young Peo-
`7
`ple to Pursue Productive Lives .............
`9
`1. Alejandro Fuentes Mena ..................
`2. Marissa Molina ................................. 10
`3. Vanessa Luna ................................... 10
`4. Erik Kwak......................................... 11
`5. Denise Panaligan ............................. 12
`6. Miriam Gonzalez Avila ..................... 13
`B. DACA Teachers Provide Special Value to
`Students, Schools, and Communities ..... 14
`1. Teacher Diversity Redresses Achieve-
`ment Gaps and Promotes Positive Stu-
`dent Outcomes .................................. 15
`
`6
`
`7
`
`
`
`ii
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued
`
`Page
`2. Excellent Teachers Offer Great Value,
`Especially in Teacher Shortage Ar-
`eas ..................................................... 17
`C. Teach For America Has Expended Con-
`siderable Resources Recruiting and Sup-
`porting Talented DACA Teachers ......... 19
` III. THE DEPARTMENT ACTED ARBITRAR-
`ILY AND CAPRICIOUSLY BY RESCIND-
`ING DACA WITHOUT CONSIDERING
`SERIOUS RELIANCE INTERESTS .......... 22
`CONCLUSION ....................................................... 25
`
`
`
`
`iii
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Page
`
`CASES
`Bd. of Educ., Island Trees Union
`Free Sch. Dist. No. 26 v. Pico,
`457 U.S. 853 (1982) ................................................. 24
`Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka,
`347 U.S. 483 (1954) ................................................. 24
`Delgadillo v. Carmichael,
`332 U.S. 388 (1947) ................................................... 8
`Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro,
`136 S. Ct. 2117 (2016) ......................................... 6, 23
`F.C.C. v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.,
`556 U.S. 502 (2009) ................................................... 6
`Garcia v. United States,
`No. 3:17-cv-5380 (N.D. Cal.) ................................ 1, 13
`Grutter v. Bollinger,
`539 U.S. 306 (2003) ................................................. 24
`Heckler v. Chaney,
`470 U.S. 821 (1985) ................................................... 5
`Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. v.
`State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
`463 U.S. 29 (1983) ............................................... 6, 23
`Ng Fung Ho v. White,
`259 U.S. 276 (1922) ................................................... 8
`Padilla v. Kentucky,
`559 U.S. 356 (2010) ................................................... 8
`Plyler v. Doe,
`457 U.S. 202 (1982) ..................................... 2, 3, 4, 24
`
`
`
`iv
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
`
`Page
`
`Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v.
`U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec.,
`908 F.3d 476 (9th Cir. 2018) ...................................... 8
`W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette,
`319 U.S. 624 (1943) ................................................. 24
`
`
`
`STATUTES
`6 U.S.C. § 202(5) ............................................................ 6
`Administrative Procedure Act ............................ 5, 6, 25
`
`
`OTHER AUTHORITIES
`AmeriCorps, Teach For America, https://www.
`teachforamerica.org/life-in-the-corps/salary-
`and-benefits/americorps (last accessed Sept.
`29, 2019) .................................................................. 20
`Anna J. Egalite & Brian Kisida, The Effects of
`Teacher Match on Students’ Academic Percep-
`tions and Attitudes. Educational Evaluation
`and Policy Analysis, 40 Rev. Res. Educ. 59
`(2018) ....................................................................... 15
`Anna J. Egalite et al., Representation in the
`Classroom: The Effect of Own-Race Teachers
`on Student Achievement, Econ. Educ. Rev., Vol.
`45, Issue C, at 44 (2015) .......................................... 16
`
`
`
`
`
`
`v
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
`
`Page
`
`Arne Duncan et al., Bipartisan Letter to Congress
`from Former Education Secretaries, https://www.
`politico.com/f/?id=0000015e-5b9c-db52-a75e-dffd
`ed380001 (last accessed Sept. 29, 2019) ................. 14
`Champions of Change: Dacamented Teachers,
`The White House, https://obamawhitehouse.
`archives.gov/champions/dacamented-teachers
`(last accessed Sept. 29, 2019) .................................. 17
`Constance A. Lindsay & Cassandra M. D. Hart,
`Exposure to Same-Race Teachers and Student
`Disciplinary Outcomes for Black Students in
`North Carolina, 39 Rev. Res. Educ. 485 (2018) ....... 16
`DACA Recipients, Teach For America, https://
`www.teachforamerica.org/how-to-join/eligibility/
`daca (last accessed Sept. 29, 2019) ............. 16, 20, 21
`Jie Zong et al., A Profile of Current DACA Recipients
`by Education, Industry, and Occupation, Mi-
`gration Pol’y Inst. 2 (Nov. 2017), https://www.
`migrationpolicy.org/research/profile-current-daca-
`recipients-education-industry-and-occupation ....... 18
`Leib Sutcher et al., A Coming Crisis in Teaching?
`Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in
`the U.S., Learning Pol’y Inst. 1 (2016), https://
`learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/
`product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_
`REPORT.pdf ............................................................ 18
`
`
`
`
`
`
`vi
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
`
`Page
`
`Memorandum on Rescission of Deferred Action
`for Childhood Arrivals (Sept. 5, 2017), availa-
`ble at Pet. App. 101a, Dep’t of Homeland Sec.
`v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., No. 18-587 ................ 4
`Remarks by the President on Immigration, The
`White House (June 15, 2012), https://obama
`whitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/
`06/15/remarks-president-immigration ..................... 3
`The State of Racial Diversity in the Educator
`Workforce 2016, U.S. Dep’t Educ. (July 2016),
`https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED571989 ..................... 15, 16
`Status and Trends in the Education of Racial
`and Ethnic Groups 2017, Nat’l Ctr. Educ.
`Statistics, U.S. Dep’t Educ. (July 2017),
`https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017051.pdf ............. 15
`Stephen B. Holt & Nicholas W. Papageorge, Who
`Believes in Me? The Effect of Student–Teacher
`Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations,
`Econ. Educ. Rev., Vol. 52, Issue C, at 209 (2016) ....... 16
`Teach For America, What We Do, https://www.
`teachforamerica.org/what-we-do (last accessed
`Sept. 29, 2019) ......................................................... 14
`Teacher Shortage Areas, U.S. Dep’t of Educ.,
`https://tsa.ed.gov ..................................................... 18
`U.S. Dep’t of Educ. Fed. Student Aid, Financial
`Aid and Undocumented Students, https://student
`aid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/financial-aid-and-
`undocumented-students.pdf (last accessed Sept.
`29, 2019) .................................................................. 20
`
`
`
`vii
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
`
`Page
`
`Undocumented Student Tuition: Overview, Nat’l
`Conf. St. Legislatures (Sept. 29, 2019), http://
`www.ncsl.org/research/education/undocumented-
`student-tuition-overview.aspx ................................ 20
`Viridiana Carrizales, Why TFA Supports DACA
`and Undocumented Students, Teach For
`America (Feb. 28, 2017), https://www.teach
`foramerica.org/stories/why-tfa-supports-daca-
`and-undocumented-students .................................. 21
`Zenen Jaimes Pérez, Removing Barriers to Higher
`Education for Undocumented Students, Ctr.
`Am. Progress 8 (Dec. 2014), https://cdn.american
`progress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Undoc
`HigherEd-report2.pdf ................................. 15, 16, 20
`
`
`
`1
`
`INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE1
`
`For almost three decades, Teach For America, Inc.
`has recruited top college graduates and professionals
`who commit to teach for at least two years in low-
`income communities. More than 6,500 Teach For Amer-
`ica corps members currently teach in 2,500 public
`schools across the country. Many Teach For America
`alumni become lifelong leaders in the effort to end ed-
`ucational inequity. They win recognition as teachers,
`school principals, and leaders in school systems and
`departments of education. Our 62,000 corps members
`and alumni include 20,000 teachers working in class-
`rooms; nearly 3,000 principals, assistant principals,
`and deans; more than 550 system leaders; and over 100
`school board members. Eight alumni currently lead
`statewide school systems, serving as state education
`commissioners, state education secretaries, or state su-
`perintendents. Others work outside the education sys-
`tem, advocating for policy reforms or pioneering new
`approaches for meeting the needs of low-income chil-
`dren.
`
`Teach For America counts almost 250 Deferred Ac-
`
`tion for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) recipients among
`its corps members and alumni, including Respondent
`Miriam Gonzalez Avila, who was a corps member
`when she became a party in Garcia v. United States,
`No. 3:17-cv-5380 (N.D. Cal.). The organization witnesses
`
`1 All parties have consented to the filing of this brief. No
`
`party or party’s counsel authored this brief in whole or in part. No
`one but amicus curiae and its counsel made monetary contribu-
`tion to its preparation or submission.
`
`
`
`2
`
`firsthand the leadership, passion, and empathy these
`incredible individuals bring to serving their students,
`schools, and communities. An end to DACA would end
`their ability to work and put them at risk of deporta-
`tion—a far cry from the pathway to citizenship these
`young people deserve. Ending DACA would undermine
`Teach For America’s effort to increase academic suc-
`cess among all students, and would severely impact
`undocumented students, for whom DACA teachers are
`particularly powerful role models. Teach For America
`thus has an interest in the continued vitality of DACA,
`and seeks to ensure that the program is not unlawfully
`rescinded.
`
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`
`INTRODUCTION AND
`SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
`
`Almost four decades ago, this Court confirmed
`that undocumented children enjoy a constitutional
`right to free public education, “the primary vehicle for
`transmitting the values on which our society rests.”
`Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 221 (1982) (internal quota-
`tion marks omitted). “By denying these children a
`basic education,” the Court explained, “we deny them
`the ability to live within the structure of our civic in-
`stitutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that
`they will contribute in even the smallest way to the
`progress of our Nation.” Id. at 223. Especially because
`undocumented children may “remain in this country
`indefinitely,” the cost of public education is “wholly
`
`
`
`3
`
`insubstantial” when compared against the benefit “to
`these children, the State, and the Nation.” Id. at 230.
`
`On Plyler’s thirtieth anniversary, President Obama
`
`announced a policy of temporary relief from deporta-
`tion for “talented young people, who, for all intents and
`purposes, are Americans.” In a tacit acknowledgement
`of Plyler’s legacy, President Obama identified DACA’s
`beneficiaries as “young people who study in our schools,”
`who have “been raised as Americans,” and who “under-
`stand themselves to be part of this country.”2
`
`Over the next five years, hundreds of thousands of
`
`people successfully applied to the United States De-
`partment of Homeland Security for temporary depor-
`tation relief and work authorization under DACA.
`They graduated from high school, pursued higher edu-
`cation, served in the military, and worked in their com-
`munities.
`
`Presented with the full range of job opportunities,
`
`many chose to give back to their communities. In par-
`ticular, approximately 250 helped educate a new gen-
`eration of students by serving as Teach For America
`corps members, often working in schools with large
`populations of undocumented children who, to this day,
`benefit from Plyler’s promise of free public education.
`These teachers typically held leadership positions in
`their colleges, and are often open about their status
`as DACA recipients. They deconstruct stereotypes and
`
`2 Remarks by the President on Immigration, The White House
`
`(June 15, 2012), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-
`office/2012/06/15/remarks-president-immigration.
`
`
`
`4
`
`operate as role models of achievement, possibility, and
`service. Their presence is especially valuable for un-
`documented students, a vulnerable group that benefits
`substantially from having authority figures with whom
`they can identify.
`
`Because of DACA, these Teach For America corps
`
`members have a better chance than ever before to live
`out the simple truth, recognized by this Court, that
`“education provides the basic tools by which individu-
`als might lead economically productive lives to the
`benefit of us all.” Plyler, 457 U.S. at 221.
`
`That chance was abruptly curtailed, however,
`
`when the Department rescinded DACA on September
`5, 2017. Acting Secretary Elaine Duke’s memorandum
`(the “Duke Memorandum”) articulated unsubstanti-
`ated concerns about the legal basis for the DACA pol-
`icy, then announced that the Department would “wind
`it down in an efficient and orderly fashion.”3
`
` Without DACA, undocumented youth—including
`thousands of schoolchildren—lack a clear path to
`higher education, economic mobility, and high-quality
`jobs. They risk deportation to countries they do not
`know. Even if they avoid removal, they are hampered
`in their ability to “lead economically productive lives.”
`Without DACA, Teach For America, school districts,
`and other organizations lose the investment they have
`
`3 Memorandum on Rescission of Deferred Action for Child-
`
`hood Arrivals (Sept. 5, 2017), available at Pet. App. 101a, Dep’t of
`Homeland Sec. v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., No. 18-587 (“Re-
`gents”).
`
`
`
`
`
`5
`
`made in recruiting and training talented workers, and
`our communities lose teachers, caregivers, healthcare
`professionals, and members of the military, all of whom
`seek to advance our nation’s ideals.
`
`In light of the enormous reliance interests at
`
`stake, the Department errs in arguing that this Court
`may not review the rescission of DACA even under an
`“arbitrary and capricious” standard. The Department
`asks this Court to tell DACA recipients, the nation, and
`the world that judicial review does not apply to a gov-
`ernment decision depriving 700,000 young people of
`basic protections for personal safety and the ability to
`continue the only life they have ever known. No legal
`basis supports the Department’s decision, which would
`hobble our moral standing and undermine American
`values. See Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821, 832 (1985).
`
`The Duke Memorandum makes no mention of
`
`DACA’s profound impact on hundreds of thousands of
`young people, or on the communities where they live,
`learn, teach and work. For these reasons, Teach For
`America urges this Court to affirm the unanimous
`opinions and orders from the lower courts setting aside
`the Department’s rescission of DACA as arbitrary and
`capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act
`(“APA”).
`
`
`
`--------------------------------- ---------------------------------
`
`
`
`
`
`
`6
`
`ARGUMENT
`I. THE APA REQUIRES AN AGENCY TO CON-
`SIDER “SERIOUS RELIANCE INTERESTS”
`WHEN IMPLEMENTING A POLICY CHANGE
`
`Congress vested the Department with authority to
`implement the DACA policy, and also to amend or re-
`scind that policy. 6 U.S.C. § 202(5). Although agencies
`are “free to change their existing policies,” they must
`“provide a reasoned explanation for the change.” En-
`cino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 136 S. Ct. 2117, 2125
`(2016). In particular, the agency must acknowledge
`cases in which the “prior policy has engendered serious
`reliance interests.” F.C.C. v. Fox Television Stations,
`Inc., 556 U.S. 502, 515 (2009). “[I]t is not that further
`justification is demanded by the mere fact of policy
`change,” but the agency must offer “a reasoned expla-
`nation” for “disregarding facts and circumstances that
`underlay or were engendered by the prior policy.” Id. at
`515–16.
`
`Courts reviewing agency action under the APA
`
`must ensure that an agency’s “decision was based on a
`consideration of the relevant factors.” Motor Vehicle
`Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins.
`Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983). A court should set aside an
`action as arbitrary and capricious if the agency “en-
`tirely failed to consider an important aspect of the
`problem.” Ibid. Where “serious reliance interests [are]
`at stake,” the agency may not rely on “conclusory state-
`ments” to justify its change in position, and must pro-
`vide a “reasoned explanation” for reversing course.
`Encino Motorcars, 136 S. Ct. at 2127.
`
`
`
`7
`
`Teach For America’s experience demonstrates that
`
`the Department violated these well-settled principles
`when it rescinded DACA.
`
`
`II. DACA HAS ENGENDERED SERIOUS RELI-
`ANCE INTERESTS IN TEACH FOR AMER-
`ICA, TEACHERS, SCHOOLS, AND STUDENTS
`
`In 2013, Teach For America was among the first
`organizations to recruit DACA-eligible college stu-
`dents. Starting with two DACA teachers in Denver,
`Teach For America’s DACA cohort has grown to 89 cur-
`rent members and more than 150 alumni, many of
`whom remain active in the education community.
`
`Teach For America has expended considerable re-
`
`sources to recruit and support these talented young
`people on their journey to becoming teachers and lead-
`ers in communities nationwide. Their lived experience
`as undocumented immigrants enhances their ability to
`guide students and spearhead transformative change
`in the classroom and beyond, and so advances Teach
`For America’s pedagogical mission. Because of these
`unique benefits, an end to DACA harms not only DACA
`recipients, but also the organizations that recruited
`and trained them, the students who depend on them
`daily, and the communities they serve.
`
`
`
`A. DACA Freed Undocumented Young Peo-
`ple to Pursue Productive Lives
`
`Commentary on DACA’s impact has generally—
`and rightly—focused on the 700,000 individuals who
`
`
`
`8
`
`hold temporary relief and work authorization. See, e.g.,
`Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland
`Sec., 908 F.3d 476, 520 (9th Cir. 2018) (Because of
`DACA, Respondent “Dulce Garcia and the hundreds of
`thousands of other young dreamers like her may con-
`tinue to live productively in the only country they have
`ever known.”).
`
`DACA allows undocumented youth to live without
`
`fear of deportation. One cannot overstate the benefits
`of dispelling that ever-present specter. As this Court
`has long recognized, involuntary removal may cause
`“loss of both property and life, or of all that makes life
`worth living.” Ng Fung Ho v. White, 259 U.S. 276, 284
`(1922). For a young person who thinks of America as
`home and has never known any other, deportation
`means “banishment or exile.” Delgadillo v. Carmichael,
`332 U.S. 388, 391 (1947); see also Padilla v. Kentucky,
`559 U.S. 356, 373 (2010) (recognizing the “severity of
`deportation”).
`
`In addition to providing peace of mind, DACA
`
`opened up opportunities that U.S. citizens take for
`granted, like applying for a driver’s license or a job. Al-
`most 250 of these accomplished young leaders chose to
`participate in the Teach For America program to help
`remedy educational inequity and become lifelong lead-
`ers who impact societal change. The six described be-
`low embody DACA’s benefits and the reliance interests
`at stake in this case.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`9
`
`1. Alejandro Fuentes Mena
`At age four, Alejandro Fuentes Mena came to
`
`San Diego from Valparaiso, Chile. His undocumented
`parents found work, but their low-wage jobs could not
`prevent periods of homelessness during Fuentes’s
`childhood. He entered his teenage years with near-
`failing grades, but encouragement from a dedicated
`teacher helped him raise his GPA high enough to earn
`a full scholarship at Whitman College in Washington.
`As college graduation approached, however, he began
`to feel hopeless about his future, fearing that his lack
`of documentation would force him into the same low-
`wage, under-the-table jobs as his parents.
`
`DACA changed everything, enabling Fuentes to
`
`join Teach For America as one of the first undocumented
`corps members. He wanted to become a teacher because
`he’d seen an educator turn around a child’s life. Fuentes
`finished his two-year commitment with Teach For
`America in 2015 and continues to serve students in
`Denver, where he began his seventh year as a middle
`school math teacher this fall. After participating in
`Moonshot, a school incubator fellowship, Fuentes now
`seeks to start his own school with a focus on arts inte-
`gration. He aims to help students develop their talents
`alongside their academics. Fuentes also continues to
`humanize the undocumented community, seeking to
`share his narrative in the podcast Shoebox Stories to
`contribute to nationwide exposure around the immi-
`gration crisis.
`
`
`
`
`
`10
`
`2. Marissa Molina
` Marissa Molina came from Mexico when she was
`nine and grew up in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Be-
`fore her first day of school, she practiced saying, “I don’t
`speak English.” Even after learning English, she spent
`high school ashamed and isolated by her undocu-
`mented status, which her family instructed her to keep
`secret. She revealed her status to an empathetic col-
`lege counselor, who helped Molina become the first
`member of her family to attend college. Paying tuition
`was a struggle, however, even though Molina worked
`alongside her mother cleaning houses. She considered
`dropping out. Without the ability to work legally, she
`thought, a college degree was little more than a piece
`of paper.
`
`Then DACA opened new opportunities. Molina
`
`graduated from college and joined Teach For America
`in 2014. The following year, the White House honored
`her as a “Champion of Change” for developing a cultur-
`ally responsive curriculum tailored to native Spanish
`speakers. In March 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Po-
`lis appointed Molina to the Board of Trustees for the
`Metropolitan State University of Denver, acknowledg-
`ing her ability to advocate for expanding educational
`opportunity.
`
`
`
`3. Vanessa Luna
`Vanessa Luna emigrated from Lima, Peru at age
`
`ten. Like Molina, she grew up fearing social rejection
`and removal orders, then became the first of her family
`
`
`
`11
`
`to graduate from college. She taught in Los Angeles as
`a Teach For America corps member and served as a
`founding member of the organization’s DACA Advisory
`Board.
`
`After her time in the classroom, Luna drew on her
`
`experiences as an undocumented student and teacher
`to found ImmSchools, a non-profit organization that
`helps educators create safe and welcoming spaces for
`undocumented students and their families. She cre-
`ated programming materials that have trained almost
`1,000 educators, and devised workshops to help nearly
`1,000 immigrant families learn about legal and educa-
`tional services. This year, the Forbes “30 Under 30” list
`honored Luna for her ongoing impact.
`
`
`
`4. Erik Kwak
`Eric Kwak came to the United States from South
`
`Korea when he was eight and grew up in Koreatown,
`Los Angeles. Kwak’s mother faced dim prospects in
`South Korea as the fourth daughter in a patriarchal
`society, and moved to America hoping to give her fam-
`ily a chance at a better life. She was determined to es-
`cape poverty and impressed upon her son the value of
`education as a tool for upward social mobility.
`
`Kwak graduated as the valedictorian of his high
`
`school class and went on to the University of Califor-
`nia, Berkeley. He then joined Teach For America as a
`Head Start teacher in West Garfield Park, Chicago. He
`is now pursuing a career in education policy, hoping to
`address inequities in our education system. This past
`
`
`
`12
`
`year, he worked as a Public Policy Fellow at the Ala-
`meda County Office of Education to organize and ad-
`vocate for a bill increasing funding for public schools
`in California. DACA gave him the opportunity to make
`his mother’s dream come true.
`
`
`
`5. Denise Panaligan
`Denise Panaligan was born in Mandaluyong in the
`
`Philippines. She came to the United States when she
`was nine and, like Kwak, grew up in Koreatown. She
`too spent much of her life ashamed and fearful of her
`undocumented status, until a resourceful counselor
`told her about a conference that connected undocu-
`mented students with resources in higher education.
`With support from her community, Panaligan gradu-
`ated from UCLA with a dual degree in Economics and
`Asian American Studies, then earned a master’s de-
`gree in urban education from Loyola Marymount Uni-
`versity.
`
`
`After joining Teach For America, she was honored
`as the Urban Educator of the Year for her work with
`English Learners and students with disabilities. Pan-
`aligan began her fourth year of teaching this fall as a
`history teacher, and will be assisting with Teach For
`America trainings around diversity, equity, and inclu-
`sion. She believes teachers should help break down
`systemic injustices and develop equitable policies for
`new generations of students. Panaligan is also an ac-
`tive member of UPLIFT, a community organization
`that advances Asian American and Pacific Islander
`
`
`
`13
`
`representation in the narrative around immigration in
`order to highlight important histories, cultures, and so-
`cial justice issues.
`
`
`
`6. Miriam Gonzalez Avila
` Miriam Gonzalez Avila arrived in Los Angeles at
`age six. In high school, a formerly undocumented La-
`tina teacher became her role model and inspired her to
`believe that she could “make it,” even without a formal
`immigration status. After graduating with Dean’s
`Honors from UCLA, Gonzalez joined Teach For Amer-
`ica, hoping that she too could become a role model. She
`recalls a student confessing his undocumented status
`to her, a secret he had not told any other teacher. After
`hearing his family’s story, including their reluctance to
`ask for help for fear of being discovered, she organized
`a “know your rights” workshop for local immigrant
`families.
`
`Gonzalez was in the middle of teaching a class in
`
`her hometown when the Department announced its re-
`scission of DACA. Her students knew that she was a
`DACA recipient. They asked what would happen to
`her, and whether she would have to leave. She decided
`to join the complaint in Garcia v. United States to show
`her students the importance of fighting for one’s be-
`liefs. She believes, as Teach For America believes, that
`to rescind DACA so abruptly, when so many have re-
`lied on it to better themselves and their country, is un-
`lawful and wrong.
`*
`
`
`
` *
`
`
`
` *
`
`
`
`14
`
`Dedicated educators inspired these young people
`
`to pursue higher education. Yet their limited post-
`college prospects nearly stifled that inspiration. DACA
`brought hope and created a legal path to previously
`unattainable goals. Their government offered an op-
`portunity and they made the most of it, hoping to give
`back to the nation that had given them so much. As
`five former Secretaries of Education explained, re-
`scinding DACA would “violate a promise our nation
`made to these earnest young people.”4
`
`
`
`B. DACA Teachers Provide Special Value to
`Students, Schools, and Communities
`
`Fuentes, Molina, Luna, Kwak, Panaligan, and
`Gonzalez exemplify the “outstanding and diverse lead-
`ers” that Teach For America places in low-income com-
`munities, where they “confront both the challenges and
`joys of expanding opportunities for kids.”5 Teach For
`America requires strong academic records and leader-
`ship skills, attributes often found in DACA students
`who engage in advocacy and awareness campaigns
`around immigration issues on campus, in the public
`square, and in the halls of government. Moreover,
`
`
`4 Arne Duncan et al., Bipartisan Letter to Congress from For-
`
`mer Education Secretaries at 2, https://www.politico.com/f/?id=
`0000015e-5b9c-db52-a75e-dffded380001 (last accessed Sept. 29,
`2019); see also ibid. (“We must not, we cannot, let these children
`down. The stakes are too high for them and for the future of our
`country.”).
`5 Teach For America, What We Do, https://www.teachforamerica.
`
`org/what-we-do (last accessed Sept. 29, 2019).
`
`
`
`15
`
`DACA enables Teach For America to recruit and part-
`ner with teachers who reflect the diverse demographics
`in school systems across the country, thereby advanc-
`ing Teach For America’s mission in unique and power-
`ful ways.
`
`
`
`1. Teacher Diversity Redresses Achieve-
`ment Gaps and Promotes Positive Stu-
`dent Outcomes
`Undocumented youth are a vulnerable group: com-
`
`pared to their U.S.-born peers, they are five times less
`likely to finish high school, and those who enroll in col-
`lege are far less likely to graduate.6 Black and Hispanic
`students, too, continue to lag behind on standardized
`test scores, discipline records, and high school gradua-
`tion rates.7
`
`A growing body of research shows that diversity
`
`among educators plays a powerful role in closing these
`achievement gaps, in addition to “providing social ad-
`vantages for all students.”8 Diverse teachers “break[ ]
`
`6 Zenen Jaimes Pérez, Removing Barriers to Higher Educa-
`
`tion for Undocumented Students, Ctr. Am. Progress 8–9 (Dec. 2014),
`https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Undoc
`HigherEd-report2.pdf.
`7 Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic
`
`Groups 2017, Nat’l Ctr. Educ. Statistics, U.S. Dep’t Educ., at iii–v
`(July 2017), https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017051.pdf.
`8 The State of Racial Diversity in the Educator Workforce
`
`2016, U.S. Dep’t Educ., at 2 (July 2016), https://eric.ed.gov/
`?id=ED571989; see also Anna J. Egalite & Brian Kisida, The Ef-
`fects of Teacher Match on Students’ Academic Perceptions and At-
`titudes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 40 Rev. Res.
`
`
`
`
`16
`
`down negative stereotypes” and serve as “positive role
`models” in different ways to different students.9 Teach-
`ers who share demographic traits with their students
`help upend the tyranny of low expectations, diffuse
`conflicts that can lead to disciplinary action, and in-
`spire students to be their best selves.
`
`DACA teachers add to the diversity of Teach For
`
`America’s corps in many ways, including language flu-
`ency, national origin,
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
Still Working On It
This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.
Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.
A few More Minutes ... Still Working
It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.
Thank you for your continued patience.
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
