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This appears to be first lawsuit challenging the new employment authorization regs set to go into effect Aug. 25. It outlines pretty well why Chad Wolf isn't actually the Acting DHS Secretary.
https://asylumadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Casa-de-Maryland-v.-Wolf-Complaint.pdf
https://asylumadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Casa-de-Maryland-v.-Wolf-Complaint.pdf
The argument goes - (1) Sec. Nielsen resigned effective April 7, 2019 and then purported to change the DHS orders of succession on April 10, 2019 after she had already resigned; (2) Nielsen only changed the orders of succession related to "disaster or catastrophic emergency"
So even if her change, occuring days after she had resigned, was effective, she had left in place the orders of sucession for "death, resignation, or inability"; (3) because she flubbed that change, McAleenan never actually became"Acting DHS Secretary"
(4) McAleenan purports to take office 4/11/2019 but under the succession order, it should have been Chris Krebs and then David Glawe; (5) since McAleenan had no authority to act as DHS Secretary, a series of following actions was unlawful;
(6) McAleenan's 9/9/19 "timeline repeal notice" and 11/8/19 further amendment to the succession orders were unlawful (this is what supposedly gave Wolf authority to assume the role); (7) McAleenan resigns 11/13/19
(8) the Complaint alleges a day after his resignation, McAleenan issued the Border EAD Notice (I hadn't noticed that issue before); (9) Wolf assumes the Acting DHS role based on the erroneous changes to the succession orders by Nielsen and McAleenan.
(10) Wolf issues the Timeline Repeal Rule and the Broader EAD Rule (both things this lawsuit is challenging) without authority to do so. A few more important things about this Complaint...
First, it challenges Wolf's and McAleenan's authority under both the HSA and the FVRA. Second, the Plaintiffs will likely seek a preliminary injunction given how soon this rule will take effect. So in theory we should have at least a preliminary ruling on this issue soon.
The broader implication - all actions taken by the DHS since 4/10/19 have been unlawful. Each regulation issued, each policy pronouncement. Perhaps each administrative removal order. The amount of chaos and lawlessness this admin. has created is really quite astounding.
