The first major lawsuit by a university to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been filed by a school whose top official helped create it.
As the head of the Department of Homeland Security in the Obama administration, UC President Janet Napolitano knows all about DACA. Though it was announced by President Obama, it was her agency’s plan.
Now as the leader of the University of California system, Napolitano feels DACA was repealed “capriciously” and by “unreasonable” executive whim.
And she let others in the academic community know they are free to join in UC’s legal fight.
“We would welcome the participation of other universities and colleges around the country, absolutely,” Napolitano said in a media call on Friday.
UC filed its lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in the Northern District of California on Friday, seeking to reverse the Trump administration’s decision to end DACA announced earlier in the week.
“Neither I, nor the University of California, take the step of suing the federal government lightly, especially not the very agency I led,” said Napolitano, who denied that being a former head represented any conflict of interest, or required her recusal. “It is imperative, however, that we stand up for these vital members of the UC community.”
