Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District v. Mayorkas

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed judgment in favor of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on claims that the Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to consider environmental impacts of certain immigration programs and policies. The plaintiffs—identified as environmentalists, environmental groups, natural resource conservation districts, and cattle ranchers—alleged, among other things, that the immigration actions resulted in increased greenhouse gas emissions. The Ninth Circuit found that a manual that described how the Department would implement NEPA was not a final agency action subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act, and that immigration “programs” challenged by the plaintiffs, including Temporary Protective Status and long-term nonimmigrant visas, were not discrete agency actions subject to review. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing for their remaining claims.