Honors Grad Denied DACA Renewal Due To Civil Protests, Sues USCIS: Unzueta v. USCIS

Unzueta v. USCIS, filed May 25, 2016 - "Defendants granted DACA to the Plaintiff in 2013, but denied “renewal” of DACA in 2015 after she continued to be outspoken in support of the rights of other noncitizens. Defendants purported to label Ms. Unzueta Carrasco’s citations for civil disobedience (for which she was never convicted) as a “threat to public safety.” ... In 2009, Ms. Unzueta Carrasco graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree, summa *** laude with college honors and with the highest distinctions in her department. ... [T]he Agency has denied [her] DACA renewal on one basis. It finds that Ms. Unzueta Carrasco’s arrests, which the Agency acknowledges are civil disobedience-related, raise “public safety concerns.” ... The Agency’s decision to summarily deny relief suggest prejudgment of the case and a fixed intention to punish individuals like Ms. Unzueta Carrasco who have engaged in peaceful civil disobedience targeted at the immigration enforcement regime. ... Defendants’ true purpose for denying Plaintiff’s application for DACA renewal was to suppress the viewpoint expressed by Plaintiff’s expressive activities."

Wendy Widom, CBS Chicago, May 25, 2016 - "A Whitney Young alumna and vocal advocate for undocumented immigrants filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a federal agency after her request to be allowed to stay in the United States was denied.  Nadia Sol Ireri Unzueta Carrasco sought to renew her status under DACA, which stands for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. She’s now suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  “I’m filing this lawsuit today because, like myself, there are hundreds of undocumented people who have participated in acts of civil disobedience to protect their communities,” said Unzueta Carrasco, 29. “I do not want them to be targeted for their acts of political expression.”  Unzueta Carrasco came to Chicago from Mexico when she was six years old. In addition to attending Whitney Young Magnet High School, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in gender and women studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago."