Amicus in Support of DACA
The deadline to sign onto the brief is September 26, 2019.
Click Here to Express Interest in Joining the DACA Amicus Brief
Amicus Brief Opportunity. In light of the Supreme Court’s decision to consolidate and hear all outstanding litigation regarding the rescission of DACA, the Alliance is collaborating with Bruce Spiva and Amanda Callais at Perkins Coie on a pro bono basis to draft and submit an amicus brief by the October 4, 2019 deadline. Bruce Spiva is the Managing Partner at Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C. office.
Click Here to Download the One Pager on the DACA Amicus Brief
Spiva and Callais at Perkins Coie previously submitted an amicus brief in support of DACA on behalf of a number of higher education institutions in the D.C. district court case in December 2017, which centered around the following legal arguments:
- DACA has allowed tens of thousands of undocumented students to pursue higher education, (2) DACA students contribute immeasurably to our campuses, including (2a) DACA students have had great academic and co-curricular success at our schools; and
- DACA students contribute to campus diversity; and
- The rescission of DACA will harm American colleges and universities.
Perkins Coie brief was a solid, well-argued, with examples of research, students, presidential statements and campus messages. This 2017 amicus brief will serve as the basis for the new brief for the Supreme Court, and we will work with Perkins Coie to update and enhance its contents.
We are very grateful to Perkins Coie for taking up this pro bono work. As you may remember, Tom Perrelli at Jenner & Block is counsel on the DACA D.C. district court case. As the Supreme Court has consolidated the Second Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and D.C. district cases, Jenner & Block are not able to submit an amicus brief for the consolidated cases.
Colleges and universities will be able to join this new brief, as they did with the previous DACA amicus brief authored by Jenner & Block and filed in the Second Circuit case in spring 2018, when over 70 Presidents’ Alliance members signed on.
Institutional Obligations. There is no financial contribution required nor any obligation to submit student narratives or institutional description. Perkins Coie will run a conflicts check and draw up individual letters of engagement for institutions that express a desire to join the brief, but the process does not obligate you to ultimately join the brief.
Why Join the Brief. It can be very meaningful on a campus level for students and community members to know their institution has signed onto an amicus brief as a sign of its support for them. Hearing the transformational impact of DACA for students and recent alumni from different institutions across the country, their reliance on DACA, and the important benefits to the campus and community, can be powerful for the case. Finally, lawyers involved in submitting amicus briefs believe it could be especially compelling to see individual institutions from across the country join onto an amicus brief.
Next Steps. If your college or university is interested in signing on, you or your staff can complete the form at this link to indicate your institution’s initial interest to join the brief. We also created one pager for institutions on best practices to collect information and narratives for inclusion in the brief.
Upon receipt of your form, we will share your institutional information with our partners at Perkins Coie. Please note that completing the interest form or even signing the engagement letter does not obligate an institution to join.
If you are interested in submitted student examples or institutional narratives, please read this guidance document, and send the information to info@presidentsimmigrationalliance.org.
