Colotl v. Kelly

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Georgia, and Kuck Immigration Partners LLC took legal action to restore Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections to DREAMer Jessica Colotl. The Trump administration suddenly and arbitrarily revoked Colotl’s DACA status, even though immigration authorities had granted her DACA twice previously and there has been no change in her circumstances. In denying the request to renew her DACA status and work permit, the U.S. government is stripping Colotl’s authorization to live and work in the United States. The legal action filed by the ACLU demands that the Department of Homeland Security reinstate Colotl’s protected status under DACA and re-evaluate her renewal application under the same consistent standards it used to grant her previous approvals.

Colotl, a resident of Georgia, is a 28-year-old citizen of Mexico who has lived in the United States since she moved here in 1999 when she was 11 years old. She graduated from Lakeside High School in DeKalb County, Georgia, in May 2006, with honors. She then attended Kennesaw State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2011. Since graduating, Colotl has worked as a paralegal at Kuck Immigration Partners LLC and aspires to attend law school to become an immigration lawyer. She also has continued to serve the community, volunteering for the Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference, donating platelets at the Northside Hospital in Atlanta, and fundraising for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. She is also a member of Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Norcross, Georgia, and a passionate advocate for immigrants’ rights and immigration reform. Under the DACA program, immigrants who came to the U.S. as children are able to apply for a work permit and temporary protection against deportation.