Judge Rules For Princeton, Microsoft In DACA Case

PRINCETON, NJ — A judge has ruled in favor of a Princeton University student, the university and Microsoft in a court case that challenged the federal government’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled that the Trump Administration’s decision to repeal DACA was “arbitrary and capricious.” DACA spares many young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. as children.

The case was brought by a university student who is a DACA recipient, along with the university and Microsoft. The Trump Administration has asked for the case to be dismissed in its entirety because it claims most plaintiffs lack standing to bring the case.

It also claims the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) deprives the Court of subject-matter jurisdiction, and that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind DACA is not subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) because it was committed to agency discretion by law, according to a copy of the judgement filed on Tuesday by Bates.

Bates ruled that the court has both jurisdiction and statutoryauthority to hear plaintiffs’ APA and constitutional claims. He also said under the APA, DACA’s rescission was arbitrary and capricious because the Department failed adequately to explain its conclusion that the program was unlawful.

“The Department’s decision to rescind DACA was predicated primarily on its legal judgment that the program was unlawful. That legal judgment was virtually unexplained, however, and so it cannot support the agency’s decision,” Bates said in his ruling. “And although the government suggests that DACA’s rescission was also predicated on the Department’s assessment of litigation risk, this consideration is insufficiently distinct from the agency’s legal judgment to alter the reviewability analysis. It was also arbitrary and capricious in its own right, and thus likewise cannot support the agency’s action. For these reasons, DACA’s rescission was unlawful and must be set aside.”

The Department of Homeland Security will have 90 days to explain why the DACA program is unlawful.
This falls in line with a similar ruling by a judge in New York in February, who ruled President Donald Trump's administration didn't offer "legally adequate reasons" for ending the program. Similar suits have also been filed in California and Maryland.

The judge determined that the plaintiffs had standing because only one plaintiff needs standing and student Maria Perales Sanchez had that as a DACA recipient.

“We are delighted that the court agreed with us that the government’s termination of the DACA program “was unlawful and must be set aside,” Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber said. “As the court noted, ‘neither the meager legal reasoning nor the assessment of litigation risk provided by [the Department of Homeland Security]’ is enough to support the government’s decision to end the program. While the decision does not fully resolve the uncertainty facing DACA beneficiaries, it unequivocally rejects the rationale the government has offered for ending the program and makes clear that the DHS acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Princeton, higher education and our country benefit from the talent and aspirations that DREAMers bring to our communities. We continue to urge Congress to enact a permanent solution that recognizes the contributions of Maria Perales Sanchez and other DREAMers, and offers them the protection and the certainty that they deserve.”

For its part, Microsoft has been outspoken in its support for DACA recipients. In September, Microsoft President Brad Smith said his company would “work as needed with other companies and the broader business community to vigorously defend the legal rights of all Dreamers.”

“For the 39 Dreamers that we know of who are our employees, our commitment is clear. If Congress fails to act, our company will exercise its legal rights properly to help protect our employees,” Smith said at the time. “If the government seeks to deport any one of them, we will provide and pay for their legal counsel. We will also file an amicus brief and explore whether we can directly intervene in any such case. In short, if Dreamers who are our employees are in court, we will be by their side.”

After Tuesday’s decision, he said: “DREAMers grew up in this country, attended our schools, pay taxes and contribute to our communities. We hope this decision will help provide new incentive for the legislative solution the country and these individuals so clearly deserve. As the business community has come to appreciate, a lasting solution for the country’s DREAMers is both an economic imperative and a humanitarian necessity.”

Princeton is known as an inclusive community overall. After DACA was rescinded, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert urged Congress to act quickly to “create an immigration system that is fair, just and moral.” She also participated in a rally in November in which protesters urged Congress to provide a path to citizenship for young immigrants.

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