Ortiz

Plaintiffs are all aliens who have been administratively denied legalization under one of two amnesty programs established by Congress in 1986. The first program is for “special agricultural workers” (“SAWs”), 8 U.S.C. § 1160 , and the second program is for aliens who have resided in the United States since January 1, 1982, 8 U.S.C. § 1255a. The programs contain parallel provisions that allow persons who file a non-frivolous or prima facie legalization application to receive authorization to work in this country pending a “final determination” on their legalization application. The plaintiffs maintain that the statute entitles unsuccessful applicants to retain their interim work authorization beyond the conclusion of administrative proceedings on their application and until the completion of judicial review of their deportation order. The district court agreed and issued an injunction requiring the government to issue work permits to the plaintiffs. The government appeals.

We must decide, first, whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs’ claim, and if so, whether the district court correctly interpreted the statutory provisions. We hold that the…