DACA & DreamersJun 22, 2026·4 min read·🔥 High relevance

MALDEF SUES NORTH CAROLINA FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AND TULSA DEALERSHIP FOR DISCRIMINATORY LENDING PRACTICES

MALDEF – News

Jun 22, 2026

MALDEF SUES NORTH CAROLINA FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AND TULSA DEALERSHIP FOR DISCRIMINATORY LENDING PRACTICES

Summary

Jun 22, 2026 | Court Cases Immigrants' Rights , DACA , News Releases LOS ANGELES — A Latino civil rights organization filed a lawsuit Thursday against a North Carolina financial institution and a Tulsa, Oklahoma motorcycle dealership for unlawfully denying a loan to a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient on the basis of his immigration status. MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed suit in federal court on behalf of Oscar Guillén Arauz, a DACA recipient, challenging the lending practices of Sheffield Financial, a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corporation, and Matt’s ATV & Offroad. The lawsuit alleges that Sheffield Financial and Matt’s ATV & Offroad unlawfully denied Guillén Arauz credit because the companies require applicants to be either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, in violation of federal civil rights law. “Whether or not the current presidential administration invites discrimination against immigrants, businesses of all kinds need to understand that such discrimination is likely unlawful under longstanding and continuing legal constraints,” said Thomas A. Although Guillén Arauz had a credit score of 772, he received an adverse action notice stating the denial was due to the financer being “unable to verify your identity,” while also indicating he could be reconsidered with “acceptable proof of identity.” Following the denial, Guillén Arauz was informed by a dealership representative that Sheffield Financial only approves loans for U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Guillén Arauz, who has been in the DACA program since 2017, was not offered any loan terms and was forced to seek alternative financing on an emergency basis to complete the purchase. “By denying his motorcycle loan application, the defendants effectively denied the plaintiff’s only means of transportation for work and life,” said Luis Lozada, MALDEF staff attorney. “There is no reason for the defendants to have denied the loan in a modest sum when the plaintiff is a college graduate with good credit history.” Guillén Arauz, who was born in Honduras and brought to the United States as a child, is a college graduate employed in Oklahoma. He has since filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding the denial and later learned the lender had no record of his application, despite issuing the adverse action notice. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief, damages, and class certification for all people who were denied credit based on citizenship or immigration status. “My mother sacrificed everything to bring me to this country almost 24 years ago so we could build a better life,” said Guillén Arauz. “As a DACA recipient, I have worked tirelessly to give back to the community that welcomed us. Yet, despite my financial background and deep commitment to this community, Sheffield Financial denied me the same opportunities available to others simply because of my immigration status. This lawsuit is not just about me; it’s about demanding that financial institutions stop using discriminatory practices that undermine the hard work of immigrant families who are vital to the fabric of our economy.” Sheffield Financial specializes in financing for consumer recreational vehicles and commercial equipment. This is the 25th lawsuit filed by MALDEF since 2017 that challenges the policies of financial and other consumer institutions that discriminate against DACA recipients and other immigrants.

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LOS ANGELES — A Latino civil rights organization filed a lawsuit Thursday against a North Carolina financial institution and a Tulsa, Oklahoma motorcycle dealership for unlawfully denying a loan to a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient on the basis of his immigration status. MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed suit in federal court on behalf of Oscar Guillén Arauz, a DACA recipient, challenging the lending practices of Sheffield Financial, a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corporation, and Matt’s ATV & Offroad. The lawsuit alleges that Sheffield Financial and Matt’s ATV & Offroad unlawfully denied Guillén Arauz credit because the companies require applicants to be either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, in violation of federal civil rights law. “Whether or not the current presidential administration invites discrimination against immigrants, businesses of all kinds need to understand that such discrimination is likely unlawf

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY SUED AGAIN FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST IMMIGRANT POTENTIAL TENANTS

Jun 19, 2026 | Court Cases Immigrants' Rights , News Releases CAMDEN, N.J. – A Latino civil rights group is suing a Pennsylvania-based property management company for denying two Egyptian women access to rental units based solely on their immigration status and other protected traits. It is the second time the group has sued the company. The lawsuit challenges Altman Management Company’s and the apartment complex, Autumn Ridge’s, policy of denying rental units to immigrants who are not lawful permanent residents or visa-holders. “Limiting housing to citizens and lawful permanent residents alone is unjustified and unlawful,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF president and general counsel. “Our nation’s best interests require the broad availability of housing, without arbitrary rules to exclude immigrants.” In the complaint, attorneys argue that the defendants’ policy violates the federal Civil Rights Act of 1866, as codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1981, which prohibits discrimination based on alienage or lack of U.S. citizenship. Additionally, by denying the sisters the opportunity to apply for an apartment unit or giving them full and equal consideration to their tenancy, the defendants’ rental agent violated New Jersey state law prohibiting discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, or nationality. “Rather than treating the plaintiffs’ rental application in the same manner as applications submitted by U.S. citizens, the defendants focused on broad generalizations and stereotypes to dissuade the plaintiffs from applying, as well as enforcing a policy that targets non-permanent resident immigrants,” said Luis Lozada, MALDEF staff attorney. “Under such a policy, certain immigrants are guaranteed to encounter heavy barriers when applying for housing because of where they come from.” In June 2024, the sisters, and their mother met with the Autumn Ridge community manager to apply for a unit. Khamis produced her passport and student visa. Ibrahim, who has applied for asylum and possesses a work-only social security number, did not have her documents on her. That same day, the manager asked Ibrahim for a permanent resident card (green card). When Ibrahim told the manager she did not have a green card, only an Employment Authorization card, the manager told Ibrahim that Autumn Ridge Apartments only accepts visas or permanent resident cards, and that she would have to “shred [the] application.” Altman Management Company LLC is Pennsylvania-based construction company that operates nearly 80 apartment communities in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 2024, the organization sued the defendants on behalf of a DACA recipient, who was denied housing because of her immigration status.

Feds Allege DACA Recipient Was Masterminded Behind Foiled WH Attack

A June 18 DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) press release, “ Alleged Ringleader of UFC Terrorist Plot is a Mexican Illegal Alien ”, reports that Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez (the alien in question), was arrested in Nebraska for his role in a purported plot “to carry out a mass-casualty attack against government officials and other attendees” during an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House on Sunday. Subsequent reports claim Alvarez, 31, entered on a tourist visa with his family in 2001, but received quasi-status under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The failure of DREAM Act legislation led the Obama administration to create DACA , which provides quasi-legal status to aliens who entered the United States while under the age of 16 before June 15, 2007, who were born after June 15, 1981, who meet certain educational standards, and who have not been convicted of certain crimes. DACA was not created by Congress, or even by executive order or executive action, for that matter. As its name suggests, DACA is a unique flavor of “deferred action” , an “inherently discretionary” exercise of “prosecutorial discretion” to which applicants have “no legal right”, though aliens granted deferred action don’t accrue periods of unlawful presence in the United States while in that status and are eligible to apply for employment authorization. ICE (immigration enforcement agency) is quick to add that “deferred action does not confer lawful immigration status upon an individual”, meaning that an alien granted DACA exists in a nether zone between legal and not. Generally, DHS won’t place an individual who has been granted DACA into removal proceedings unless and until the department terminates the alien’s DACA status or until DACA itself ends. That said, all deferred action determinations are discretionary, and so the decision to place a given alien into removal proceedings is made on a “case-by-case” basis. Or, as the Supreme Court explained 130 years ago: The order of deportation is not a punishment for crime. And when nonimmigrants — and B-2 tourist visa tourists in particular — fail to depart as promised, it makes it more difficult their fellow countrymen to come here temporarily, but

‘Dreamers’ are losing their jobs waiting for renewals under Trump: ‘It feels like a personal attack’

The process to renew Daca immigration status used to take a few weeks – now it drags on for months It’s been six months since Claudia first applied to renew her US immigration status – a process that, for the last 14 years, would only take a few weeks. Claudia, who moved to the US when she was four, has maintained legal status as a “Dreamer” with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, which was created in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation. In December, Claudia submitted her Daca renewal, as she is required to do every two years . The processing delays come at a time when Daca Dreamers are face growing hostility from the Trump administration. Hundreds of Daca holders have been arrested by federal immigration enforcement and several have been deported over the last year amid the White House’s broader immigration crackdown. More than 500,000 active Daca recipients reside in the US from nearly 200 different countries. Donald Trump attempted to eliminate the Daca program during his first term, but was ultimately blocked by the supreme court in 2020. Despite the ruling, litigation against Daca is ongoing and the administration has remained focused on targeting program recipients through new work restrictions and processing delays, immigration advocates said. “Daca delays are pushing recipients out of the workforce, jeopardizing the stability of working families, employers and local economies,” said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of advocacy and campaigns at United We Dream, an immigrant advocacy non-profit. Along with the processing delays, the Trump administration recently proposed a new rule that would impose new work authorization restrictions on Daca holders, including a requirement that their employer be enrolled in using E-Verify . It also implemented a rule that prohibits Daca holders from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.

MALDEF SUES NORTH CAROLINA FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AND TULSA DEALERSHIP FOR DISCRIMINATORY LENDING PRACTICES

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