DACA supporters in San Diego hold “Home is Here” signs after a 2020 Supreme Court decision on the program.
By T-Editor | Times of San Diego | DEC. 17, 2020 | Photo credit: Mike Blake for Reuters
The city and county of Los Angeles led a mostly public coalition, including San Diego, in filing an amicus brief in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, attorneys announced Thursday.
The brief, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn a July decision against DACA, includes 64 other local government agencies and four advocacy organizations, according to L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer.
In addition to the city of San Diego, the cities of Long Beach, Santa Monica, Fresno, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento signed onto the brief. Nationally, New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix are among those represented.
The Obama-era DACA program allows some undocumented U.S. residents who were brought into the country as children to receive protection from deportation.
The amicus brief, filed Wednesday, argues that the earlier decision, by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Southern District of Texas, is a danger to more than just recipients of the program. It also threatens their families, neighbors, coworkers, employers and local governments that benefit from the recipients’ contributions to the community, attorneys contend.
The Texas court’s 5-4 decision terminated the program for new applicants and threatened the status of the 600,000 current DACA recipients.
District Court Judge Andrew Hanen wrote in his decision that the program violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs federal agencies, because it was not submitted for the normal “notice and comment” process.
An amicus brief is a legal document that offers additional information or expertise and is filed by parties separate from the case.
Feuer called the group represented in the brief an “incredible coast-to-coast coalition” that shows “DACA recipients embody core American ideals of education, hard work and belief in a better tomorrow.”
The brief is co-led by the international law firm O’Melveny & Myers. Partner Daniel Suvor said the firm is “proud to support … all of the politically, socially, economically, and geographically diverse localities across the country that are united in their unwavering commitment to ensuring that Dreamers can continue to contribute to their communities and achieve their goals.”
Opponents argue that DACA encourages more illegal immigration and contributes to the surge of unaccompanied minors and families seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.
