On November 28, 2018, District Court Judge George Hazel issued an important Memorandum and Opinion that will allow CASA’s suit regarding the rescission of TPS for El Salvador move forward against the Trump Administration. The Administration had moved to dismiss the lawsuit, however Judge Hazel denied most of their motion.
Importantly, Judge Hazel allowed the Equal Protection and Administrative Act claims to proceed. This ruling is important for CASA, the other plaintiffs, and all Salvadorian TPS recipients because they can now start to prove that the rescission was inspired by racial animus towards Latin American immigrants and therefore too arbitrary and capricious to be legal.
The ruling is also important for the country. Judge Hazel ruled that this summer’s Supreme Court case Trump via Hawaii had not altered longstanding jurisprudence that immigrants present in the United States are guaranteed the rights of the Constitution no matter their immigration status. Further, Judge Hazel found that the President Trump’s many horrific anti-Latino and anti-Immigrant statements can be used as evidence that his Administration is discriminating against Salvadorians. Indeed, the judge noted that “[o]ne could hardly find more direct evidence of discriminatory intent towards Latino immigrants” than the statements detailed in the Complaint.