DACA recipient says credit union rejected loan over immigration status
Why it matters: People who fall under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, often referred to as "Dreamers," came to the U.S. as undocumented immigrants when they were children and are authorized to live, work and drive here.
Driving the news: The lawsuit, filed April 3 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, accuses the Credit Union of Georgia of following "a policy of denying full access to financial products to applicants who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents."
The latest: The class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Cherokee County resident by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Atlanta-based law firm Eshman Begnaud, LLC.
The complaint contends the credit union's policy violates a federal civil rights law that bars discrimination based on race, ethnicity or color when making or enforcing contracts.
Zoom in: The plaintiff, Carmen Belem Pimentel Alcocer, is a DACA recipient and has been in the U.S. since 1999 when she arrived from Mexico at the age of nine, Andrea Senteno, regional counsel for MALDEF, told Axios.
Pimentel, who has a social security number and is authorized to work in the country, submitted a car loan application to the credit union in May 2024.
A representative with the credit union asked Pimentel if she had a green card, the suit alleged. She said she didn't but said she was a DACA recipient.
The representative told Pimentel that the credit union changed its policies in January 2024 to only approve loans to people who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, according to the lawsuit.
What they're saying: Senteno said her organization has filed 22 similar cases across the country since 2017.
"We really do continue to see these instances where individuals are being denied ... on just the sole factor that they're not a U.S. citizen and they're not a green card holder," she said.
The other side: The federal court docket doesn't show an attorney or law firm that's representing the Credit Union of Georgia. A message was left with the credit union's president and CEO, but the call was not returned.
The big picture: There are about 3.6 million Dreamers who live in the U.S., but a fraction of them have sought legal protection, according to the National Immigration Forum.
previously reported.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that while the administration could end DACA, the method it used was illegal.
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