45 has since tweeted a series of "I was only kidding" statements, but even so (since he obviously cannot be trusted, to keep his word), these suits must go forward -- to protect 800,000 young people who (it must be said, based on the evidence) are not taking jobs from any US citizen. [The animation at right is but one of scorces from life science companies, to reinforce the point: search "GIFs of immigrants at companies" -- in Google images, to see many many more. I think John Carroll gets credit for the germ of the idea here. Smile.]
So -- here is the City of San Jose, California's version of the federal complaint at law against 45, as a 31 page PDF file, alleging violations of (i) the equal protection clause of the US Constitution, and (ii) the Administrative Procedures Act. I'll quote a small a bit:
. . . .San Jose is bringing this action on its own behalf and on the behalf of its employees who are DACA recipients. As described below, San Jose has suffered its own injury in fact. It also has third party standing to bring this action on behalf of its employees because San Jose has a concrete interest in the outcome of the dispute; San Jose has a close relationship with its employees, whose rights it is asserting, and there is a hindrance to the employees to protect their own interests. . . .
San Jose has been an extremely diverse region since the mid-1800s, which has led to immigrants gravitating to such areas where there are already established immigrant communities. Waves of immigrants, from China and Mexico, Vietnam, India, and Northern Europe, have played a fundamental role in the creation of three profoundly different industries: first mining, then agriculture, and finally technology in San Jose and the Silicon Valley. . . .
The rewards of DACA have been enormous, not only to the immigrants who came to this country as children, but to the nation. First-generation immigrants who enter the United States as children tend to pay, on average, more in taxes over their lifetimes than they receive in benefits, regardless of their education level. DACA recipients end up contributing more than the average, because they are not eligible for any federal means-tested welfare: cash assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, [or] health-care tax credits. . . .
Further, while studies show that undocumented immigrants are much less likely to end up in prison, this fact is especially true for DACA recipients since applicants must also pass a background check, indicating even lower levels of criminal behavior than the average American citizen. . . . DACA has been a success as it has allowed over 800,000 recipients to work and go to college in the United States thus enriching our economy and security. . . .
San Jose is. . . home to tech companies, like Cisco and Adobe, who need skilled workers. These companies also hired DACA recipients as did other Silicon Valley companies, like Apple, Facebook, and Google, and many employees live in San Jose. . . .
On September 5, 2017, President Trump, through Attorney General Sessions announced the rescission of DACA. . . . On the same day, Elaine Duke, the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, issued a memorandum rescinding DACA. . . . The memo was issued without compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act. There was no notification that there was going to be a change in DACA, no notice [or opportunity] to be heard, and no factual findings or analysis to demonstrate that DACA should be rescinded. . . .
[Even so, the President has waffled on the issue by tweet -- after announcing that DACA was rescinded, leading the Silicon Valley Organization to issue the following statement:] ". . .Not only is the rollback of DACA immoral, but it is also terrible for America's competitive economic advantage. Our economic strength is our diversity; it is our greatest asset and our key difference maker. To put 800,000 Americans, whose sole 'infraction' was arriving here as children, on a path to lose citizenship will upend a large portion of this key strength. Rescinding DACA sends the message that America's door to opportunity is slammed tighter, and that is not the message that Silicon Valley business leaders want our government to send to the world at a time when expanding opportunity is the key to long-term innovative success. . . ."
I am trying to travel light -- leaving the under-croft, after the funeral, on Saturday -- to reach a remote destination where my youngest will compete in a marathon, by early Sunday morning. Busy busy. . . indeed. Do be excellent to one another. We have learned that even as the complicated things in life. . . grow ever more complicated. . . it is the
UPDATED: I'll likely have something on this on Monday, by lunchtime (on my return from the woods) -- but in the mean time -- here is how to resist a small handed tyrant's attempt to quash peaceable dissent.
नमस्ते
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