Filed Date: Nov. 20, 2014
Closed Date: 2015
Clearinghouse coding complete
On November 20, 2014, Joe Arpaio, the Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, filed this lawsuit in the D.C. District Court against President Obama, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the U.S. Attorney General. Sheriff Arpaio sued under the Declaratory Judgment Act(28 U.S.C. § 2201) and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Represented by private counsel, the plaintiff claimed that two federal programs constituted unconstitutional abuses of the President's power:
1) The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program started on June 15, 2012; and
2) Several additional programs-- referred to by the plaintiff as Executive Order Amnesty (EOA) programs-- started on November 20, 2014
DACA allowed some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the U.S. EOA extended DACA to defer action for childhood arrivals who arrived after the earliest cut-off date and for parents and other relatives of U.S. citizens or persons lawfully present.
Specifically, Sheriff Arpaio claimed that the challenged programs constituted a dramatic departure from prior interpretation and application of existing law and regulations and that the President cannot effect these changes by Executive Order. Plaintiff also argued that even if the Court deemed these dramatic changes constitutional, the challenged programs should have gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures under the APA. Alternatively, Plaintiff challenged these actions pursuant to the APA as unlawful and invalid as arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, unreasonable, and/or otherwise not in accordance with law.
On December 4, 2014, Plaintiff sought a Preliminary Injunction and filed a brief, which the court construed as a motion to dismiss. On December 23, 2014, District Judge Beryl A. Howell denied the preliminary injunction and dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Judge Howell found that the plaintiff did not suffer a legally cognizable injury, and thus held that the Plaintiff lacked standing. Sheriff Arpaio, the Court explained, did not suffer injury in fact in his personal capacity because he sought to vindicate only a general interest in proper application of Constitution and laws. Although he alleged that undocumented immigrants had targeted him for assassination as a result of his stance on illegal immigration, neither of the challenged programs threatened the sheriff's life; in fact, his stance on illegal immigration existed prior to this case and the challenged programs. In addition, Sheriff Arpaio did not suffer injury in fact in his official capacity because he was asserting generalized grievances against federal policy and alleged injuries were largely speculative. The plaintiff also failed to show causation because neither challenged program authorized the conduct of which he complained. Arpaio v. Obama, 27 F.Supp.3d 185 (D.D.C. 2014).
On December 29, 2014, Plaintiff appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court. On August 14, 2015, the D.C. Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court in an opinion by Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard. This ended the case.
Summary Authors
Frances Hollander (11/1/2015)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5128962/parties/arpaio-v-obama/
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
Bagenstos, Samuel Robert (District of Columbia)
Baldwin, Anna M. (District of Columbia)
Abel, Charlotte A. (District of Columbia)
Barish, Daniel Mark (District of Columbia)
Brown, Janice Rogers (District of Columbia)
Howell, Beryl Alaine (District of Columbia)
Pillard, Cornelia Thayer Livingston (New York)
Srinivasan, Srikanth (District of Columbia)
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
Bagenstos, Samuel Robert (District of Columbia)
Baldwin, Anna M. (District of Columbia)
Beckenhauer, Eric B. (District of Columbia)
Bell-Platts, Meredith E.B. (District of Columbia)
Belsan, Timothy Michael (District of Columbia)
Berkower, Risa (District of Columbia)
Berman, Marcia (District of Columbia)
Berman, Julia A. (District of Columbia)
Berry, Britney (District of Columbia)
Berry, Bradford Mann (District of Columbia)
Bingham, Lauren Crowell (District of Columbia)
Bladuell, Hector G. (District of Columbia)
Borson, Joseph Evan (District of Columbia)
Borum, Marian L. (District of Columbia)
Bosshardt, Stacey (District of Columbia)
Branda, Joyce R. (District of Columbia)
Braswell, Marina Utgoff (District of Columbia)
Brinkmann, Beth S (District of Columbia)
Burch, Alan R. (District of Columbia)
Campbell, Rhonda Lisa (District of Columbia)
Cartier, Nicholas P. (District of Columbia)
Clair, Jeffrey (District of Columbia)
Clark, Denise M. (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Bradley H. (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Jason Todd (District of Columbia)
Colangelo, Matthew (District of Columbia)
Coleman, John R. (District of Columbia)
Crane-Hirsch, Daniel K (District of Columbia)
DARROW, JOSEPH ANTON (District of Columbia)
Dawgert, Jessica (District of Columbia)
Dearinger, Bryan Scott (District of Columbia)
Dellheim, Richard Alan (District of Columbia)
Diederich, Bryan Russell (District of Columbia)
Dworkowitz, Gregory Peter (District of Columbia)
Edney, Marsha Stelson (District of Columbia)
Enzinna, Paul F. (District of Columbia)
Fabian, Sarah B. (District of Columbia)
FARBY, LESLEY (District of Columbia)
Field, Brian J. (District of Columbia)
Fields, Rhonda C. (District of Columbia)
Fisher, Spencer R. (District of Columbia)
Fishman, Dillon Ariel (District of Columbia)
Forney, Geoffrey (District of Columbia)
Francis, Tricia Dianne (District of Columbia)
Freeman, Daniel J. (District of Columbia)
Freeny, Kyle Renee (District of Columbia)
Fresco, Leon (District of Columbia)
Gavoor, Aram A. (District of Columbia)
Gear, Bruce I. (District of Columbia)
Gershengorn, Ian Heath (District of Columbia)
Gilligan, James J. (District of Columbia)
Girdharry, Glenn M. (District of Columbia)
GIVHAN, ANNETTA FOSTER (District of Columbia)
Goldsmith, Aaron S. (District of Columbia)
Gomez, Abel (District of Columbia)
Graham-Oliver, Heather D. (District of Columbia)
Gray, Kathryne Marie (District of Columbia)
Guzman, Javier M. (District of Columbia)
Hammond, Derek S. (District of Columbia)
Haque, Sobia (District of Columbia)
Harris, Julie Straus (District of Columbia)
Hartnett, Kathleen R. (District of Columbia)
Heard, Bradley E. (District of Columbia)
Heffernan, Brian F. (District of Columbia)
Heiman, Julia Alexandra (District of Columbia)
Hudak, Brian P. (District of Columbia)
Humphreys, Bradley P. (District of Columbia)
Interrante, John G. (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Timothy Andrew (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Wyneva (District of Columbia)
Jones, Luke Matthew (District of Columbia)
Kaiser, Sophie (District of Columbia)
Kell, Gerald Cooper (District of Columbia)
Kelleher, Diane (District of Columbia)
Kelly, Wynne Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kelly, Genevieve McCarthy (District of Columbia)
Kidwell, Judith A. (District of Columbia)
Kirschner, Adam D. (District of Columbia)
Kishore, Deepthy (District of Columbia)
Kolsky, Joshua M. (District of Columbia)
Kurlan, Elizabeth D (District of Columbia)
Lee, Jennifer Joy (District of Columbia)
Lo, Michelle (District of Columbia)
Lyons, Jane M. (District of Columbia)
Machen, Ronald C (District of Columbia)
Maier, Peter Rolf (District of Columbia)
Maranzano, Jennifer Lynn (District of Columbia)
McBride, Patricia K. (District of Columbia)
McDaniel, Oliver W. (District of Columbia)
McFarland, Ernest Alan (District of Columbia)
McIntosh, Scott R. (District of Columbia)
McLeod, Michelle Andrea (District of Columbia)
Mead, Joseph Wilfred (District of Columbia)
Meza, Catherine (District of Columbia)
Michel, Olimpia E. (District of Columbia)
Mizer, Benjamin C. (District of Columbia)
Momeni, Mercedeh (District of Columbia)
Nebeker, William Mark (District of Columbia)
Nobile, Thornton Russell (District of Columbia)
Olson, Lisa Ann (District of Columbia)
Patton, Rodney (District of Columbia)
Peterson, Benton Gregory (District of Columbia)
Pfaffenroth, Peter C. (District of Columbia)
Popper, Robert D. (District of Columbia)
Posner, Michael Benjamin (District of Columbia)
Press, Joshua Samuel (District of Columbia)
REUVENI, EREZ (District of Columbia)
Riedel, Durwood Heinrich (District of Columbia)
RIESS, DANIEL (District of Columbia)
Russ, John Albert (District of Columbia)
Russell, Beverly Maria (District of Columbia)
Rybicki, David Cotter (District of Columbia)
Saltman, Julie Shana (District of Columbia)
Sanford, David W. (District of Columbia)
Schaefer, Daniel Patrick (District of Columbia)
Schwartz, James J. (District of Columbia)
Schwei, Daniel Stephen (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, April Denise (District of Columbia)
Sells, Bryan L. (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Avner Michael (District of Columbia)
Shore, Elise S. (District of Columbia)
Sitton, Janie Allison (District of Columbia)
Slade, Jared Michael (District of Columbia)
Sokolower, Heather G. (District of Columbia)
Stevens, Elizabeth Joanne (District of Columbia)
Stratton, Mary Elizabeth (District of Columbia)
Swinton, Nathan Michael (District of Columbia)
Taaffe, Damon William (District of Columbia)
Tepe, Sean Michael (District of Columbia)
Theis, John Kenneth (District of Columbia)
Thorp, Galen Nicholas (District of Columbia)
Truong, John Cuong (District of Columbia)
Tyler, John Russell (District of Columbia)
VASSALLO, KRISTIN LYNN (District of Columbia)
Velandy, Erin Marie (District of Columbia)
Vuong, Sarah Lake (District of Columbia)
Walker, Johnny Hillary (District of Columbia)
Weinstein, Laurie J. (District of Columbia)
Weinstein-Tull, Justin S. (District of Columbia)
Westfall, Elizabeth Stewart (District of Columbia)
Whitman, James R. (District of Columbia)
Wilson, Sarah S. (District of Columbia)
Womack, Eric R. (District of Columbia)
Wright, Steven Howard (District of Columbia)
Wyer, Kathryn L. (District of Columbia)
Abel, Charlotte A. (District of Columbia)
Barish, Daniel Mark (District of Columbia)
Bednar, Thomas A. (District of Columbia)
Bell, Thomas M. (District of Columbia)
Bennett, John Hunter (District of Columbia)
Bowles, R. H. (District of Columbia)
Branman, Robert J. (District of Columbia)
Bruce, Blanche L. (District of Columbia)
Carney, Mary Elizabeth (District of Columbia)
Chugh, Amit (District of Columbia)
Coppolino, Anthony Joseph (District of Columbia)
Davis, Patrick D. (District of Columbia)
Dean, Paul A. (District of Columbia)
DuVoisin, Mary T. (District of Columbia)
Elliott, Stephen McCoy (District of Columbia)
Finn, Stephen P. (District of Columbia)
Flentje, August Edward (District of Columbia)
Folio, Joseph Charles (District of Columbia)
Gillice, Thomas A. (District of Columbia)
Havemann, William Ernest (District of Columbia)
Henry, Terry Marcus (District of Columbia)
Holyoak, Dalin Riley (District of Columbia)
Laffredi, Timothy Stilke (District of Columbia)
LaVicka, Jeffrey P. (District of Columbia)
Leary, Peter Decklin (District of Columbia)
Lee, Ryan Gregory (District of Columbia)
Levin, Scott Douglas (District of Columbia)
Lin, Jean (District of Columbia)
Lohrer, John P. (District of Columbia)
Luh, James C. (District of Columbia)
Maloney, Sarah (District of Columbia)
Marcus, Lisa Zeidner (District of Columbia)
Martin, Edward (District of Columbia)
Maskew, Trish (District of Columbia)
Matheny, Steve Ray (District of Columbia)
May, Benjamin (District of Columbia)
Murley, Nicole Newcomb (District of Columbia)
Nash, Ann E. (District of Columbia)
Needle, Jonathan S. (District of Columbia)
Newkirk, Gary J. (District of Columbia)
O'Donnell, Sean W. (District of Columbia)
Oldham, Nicholas Andrew (District of Columbia)
Prince, Robert J. (District of Columbia)
Rizer, Arthur LaVerne (District of Columbia)
Robbins-Segers, Kim Ann (District of Columbia)
Roby, David Chadwick (District of Columbia)
Ross, Douglas (District of Columbia)
Safavi, Nancy Naseem (District of Columbia)
Scott, Olivia Hussey (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Elizabeth J. (District of Columbia)
Shoemaker, Martin Morris (District of Columbia)
Siemietkowski, John Joseph (District of Columbia)
Simmons, Keith (District of Columbia)
Soanes, Sherry Denise (District of Columbia)
Soskin, Eric J. (District of Columbia)
Stanton, Timothy Bo (District of Columbia)
Swainston, Reeve L. (District of Columbia)
Warden, Andrew I. (District of Columbia)
Warlick, Lori Buff (District of Columbia)
White, David Hugh (District of Columbia)
Williams, Rachelle C. (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5128962/arpaio-v-obama/
Last updated Feb. 11, 2024, 3:08 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 20, 2014
Closing Date: 2015
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
President of the United States, Federal
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal
Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal
U.S. Attorney General, Federal
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General:
Immigration/Border:
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
Undocumented immigrants - rights and duties