The University of California today filed a brief in the Supreme Court challenging the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In September 2017, after the administration announced it would end DACA, the University of California was the first university to sue the government.
UC President Janet Napolitano, who authorized DACA in 2012 as the secretary of Homeland Security, issued the following statement today (September 27):
Today, the University of California continued our fight to protect the nearly 700,000 Dreamers here in the United States and in our community who are DACA recipients. UC’s DACA students are studying to be the next generation of teachers, doctors, engineers and other professions that make life better for everyone. They are young people who simply want to continue to live, learn and contribute to the country they consider home.
As we demonstrated in our brief filed earlier today, the Trump administration acted illegally by ending the DACA program without offering any valid justification for doing so. Five federal courts have considered this issue and found that the administration’s decision was arbitrary and capricious, and therefore unlawful.
Since this lawsuit began, the University of California has sought to provide a safe and supportive environment for our DACA students — and we will continue to do so.
The brief can be read here.