U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter demanding that outgoing U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow reduce the delays in processing renewal applications under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Created in 2012, DACA protects individuals who came to the United States as children from deportation. DACA recipients across the country are experiencing increasing delays in renewing their status.
“DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers an opportunity to pursue higher education and meaningful careers while remaining in the only home they have ever known,” the senators wrote to Secretary Noem and Director Edlow. “Delays in processing DACA renewals are increasing the instability and uncertainty that DACA recipients already face. These delays can have profound consequences. When renewals are not processed before expiration, recipients lose employment authorization and, in many cases, their jobs. Employers experience workforce disruptions, including in sectors such as health care and education and in small businesses. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children have a parent with DACA, and when their work authorization lapses due to slow renewals, families endure heightened financial instability.”
In their letter, the senators also call attention to the increased risk of detention and deportation faced by DACA recipients when their renewal applications are not processed before their status expires. According to the DHS, as many as 270 DACA recipients have been detained and 174 have been deported. That includes at least 9 DACA recipients who have been detained in the El Paso Sector, which includes New Mexico.
“DACA recipients contribute billions of dollars annually to the national economy and serve vital roles in our communities. Administrative delays in DACA renewals undermine not only individual stability but also broader economic resilience. To reduce these disruptions and risks for DACA recipients, we urge you to reduce processing times for DACA renewal applications and reduce the volume of pending cases through timely renewals,” the senators concluded.
The letter is led by U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the letter is signed by U.S. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), President Trump’s nominee to replace Secretary Noem, also received a copy of this letter.
The full text of the letter is here.