SHOWDOWN

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Arizona’s DACA Challenge

State denied DREAMers drivers licenses, claiming it infringed upon state sovereignty.

The Supreme Court has rejected Arizona’s appeal of a circuit-court ruling barring the state from preventing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries from obtaining drivers licenses. The state initially denied DREAMers access to drivers licenses after it decided “not to accept [work] permits obtained by DACA recipients” as proof of residence. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state on behalf of DACA recipients denied licenses, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the policy, saying the “state cannot develop its own definition of immigrants who are authorized to be in the United States and that only the federal government had the power to do that.” The state then appealed, claiming the DACA policy was not enacted through Congress and had no sovereignty over state policies on drivers licenses. The Trump administration reportedly “urged” the Supreme Court justices not to take the case, saying that President Trump rescinding the DACA policy means “the state’s concerns have already been addressed.”