This is an appeal of the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion requesting that the court block Defendants from effectuating the rescission memo. On January 20, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo that superseded and rescinded government policy, most recently reaffirmed in a 2021 DHS memo, not to conduct immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations.” The 2025 memo said that it was not necessary for DHS “to create bright line rules regarding where our immigration laws are permitted to be enforced.” Rather, noting that immigration officers “frequently apply enforcement discretion,” the memo instructed law enforcement officers to “continue to use that discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense.” The memo was publicized on January 21 in a Fox News report and a DHS press statement. It was subsequently leaked on January 23.
The court of appeals set forth a schedule for initial submissions, and the briefing on the appeal is ongoing.
Technical Summary
Plaintiffs allege that the 2025 policy violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”); violates the First Amendment’s freedom of association clause; and is arbitrary and capricious under the APA. They seek declaratory relief, injunctive relief, as well as vacatur of the rescission memo under the APA.
Latest Updates
- 06/05/2025Notice of Appeal
