Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, No. 13-16248 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs, five individual "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) recipients living in Arizona, sought a preliminary injunction prohibiting defendants from enforcing their policy that prevents DACA recipients from obtaining Arizona driver's licenses. The district court denied the preliminary injunction. The court concluded that plaintiffs' requested preliminary injunction was prohibitory, not mandatory; the court need not rely on plaintiffs' preemption claim to determine whether plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on the merits of their challenge to defendants' policy; plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on their equal protection claim and the subsequent revision of defendants' policy did not undermine this conclusion where the current policy continues to permit the use of Employment Authorization Documents as proof of authorized presence for two sizeable groups of noncitizens similarly situated to DACA recipients and where there was no rational relationship between the policy and a legitimate state interest; plaintiffs have shown that, in the absence of a preliminary injunction, they are likely to suffer irreparable harm where, among other things, plaintiffs' inability to obtain driver's licenses limits their professional opportunities; and plaintiffs have established that both the public interest and the balance of the equities favor a preliminary injunction. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the district court and remanded with instructions to enter a preliminary injunction.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction and remanded in an action challenging an Arizona policy which prohibits recipients of the federal program called the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” from obtaining driver’s licenses by using Employment Authorization Documents as proof of their authorized presence in the United States. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program authorizes certain immigrants, who came without permission to the United States as children, to remain in the United States. The panel stated that although on the current record, it was unable to resolve whether plaintiffs had established a likelihood of success on the merits of their preemption claim, plaintiffs had shown that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their equal protection claim. The panel held that even applying a rational basis of review, it could identify no legitimate state interest that was rationally related to defendants’ decision to treat DACA recipients disparately from other noncitizens who were permitted to use their Employment Authorization Documents as proof of their authorized presence in the United States when applying for driver’s licenses. The panel further held that plaintiffs had shown that they were likely to suffer irreparable harm unless defendants’ policy was enjoined, and that both the balance of equities and the public interest favored an injunction. The panel remanded with instructions that the district court enter a preliminary injunction prohibiting defendants from enforcing any policy by which the Arizona Department of Transportation refuses to accept plaintiffs’ Employment Authorization Documents, issued to plaintiffs under DACA, as proof that plaintiffs are authorized under federal law to be present in the United States. Joining in the majority opinion and concurring as to Part II.A, Judge Christen stated that she agreed that plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their equal protection claim. Judge Christen further agreed that plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of irreparable injury, and satisfied the other prerequisites for injunctive relief. She wrote separately to express her view that plaintiffs had also demonstrated a likelihood of success on their preemption claim because Arizona’s policy regulates immigration by creating a new classification of alien status.
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