Supreme Court Denies Stay in Arizona's DACA Driver License Injunction

Professor Ruthann Robson, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law

The Supreme Court today denied an application for a stay from Arizona in Brewer v. Arizona Dream Act Coalition.  The Order states that Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito would grant the application for the stay.

Recall that the Ninth Circuit entered a preliminary injunction on behalf of the plaintiffs who challenged an Executive Order by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer prohibiting recipients of the federal program called the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) from obtaining driver’s licenses by using Employment Authorization Documents as proof of their authorized presence in the United States.  The Ninth Circuit panel of judges held that even under a rational basis standard of equal protection review, there was 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 denial of a stay should not be surprising at this preliminary stage, but the litigation is sure to continue.

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