In response to a Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the AFL-CIO and other labor organizations, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney on August 31, 2007, issued a Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction regarding the recently-issued Safe Harbor Regulations Regarding No-Match Letters. The TRO states:

The Court finds that Plaintiffs have raised serious questions as to whether the new Department of Homeland Security rule is inconsistent with statute and beyond the statutory authority of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. The Court also finds that Plaintiffs have demonstrated that the balance of harms tips sharply in favor of a stay based on Plaintiffs’ sowing that they and their members would suffer irreparable harm if the rule is implemented while Defendants would suffer significantly less harm from the delay in the implementation of the rule pending consideration of Plaintiffs’ claims.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, pending a hearing in whether a preliminary injunction should issue, Defendants MICHAEL CHERTOFF, Secretary of Homeland Security; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; JULIE MYERS, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security; U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; MICHAEL ASTRUE, Commissioner of Social Security; and SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, and their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons in active concert or participation with them, are HEREBY ENJOINED AND RESTRAINED from giving any effect to or otherwise taking any action to implement the Final Rule adopted by the Department of Homeland Security entitled “Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter” that was published at 77 Fed. Reg. 45611 (Aug. 15, 2007), including by mailing or otherwise causing to be sent to employers the Social Security Administration no-match letter packets that include the Department of Homeland Security guidance letter concerning the Final Rule.

A hearing on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction is scheduled for October 1, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.

Additional Reading:

• A copy of the Complaint and Temporary Restraining Order are available via the National Immigration Law Center.
• Prior story: Safe Harbor Regulations Regarding No-Match Letters