Congressmen Chuy García and Lou Correa Lead Colleagues in Urging DHS to Reduce Delays for DACA Renewals
CHICAGO — Congressmen Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), member of the Judiciary Committee, and Lou Correa (CA-46), member of the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, led 86 Members in a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow urging DHS to reduce delays in processing DACA renewal requests.
In the letter, the Members note that DACA “has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers to live and work in the only country they have ever known,” and express grave concern about the “sharp increase in processing times for our constituents’ DACA and EAD renewal requests,” even for those who complied fully with renewal guidance by submitting their applications well in advance of their expiration dates.
The Members emphasize that because of USCIS’s processing delays, DACA recipients “are losing their jobs even though their employers want to keep them on, struggling to make ends meet, and facing detention and removal.” These delays are “particularly harmful given that many DACA recipients are employed in critical sectors, including nursing, education, construction, and other essential industries, where interruptions in employment can have significant consequences not only for the individuals and their families, but also for the communities and local economies that rely on their contributions.”
The Members urge DHS and USCIS leaders to “address this urgent situation by expediting processing for DACA recipients,” and ask a series of oversight questions to understand the reason for the delays.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
Members signing this letter include: Alma Adams (NC-12), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-00), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Ami Bera (CA-06), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jason Crow (CO-06), Danny Davis (IL-07), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), John Larson (CT-01), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Sarah McBride (DE-00), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Christian Menefee (TX-18), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Frank Mrvan (IN-01), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-00), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Scott Peters (CA-50), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Derek Tran (CA-45), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).
Organizations endorsing the letter include: United We Dream, National Immigrant Justice Center, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, The Resurrection Project, Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, Metropolitan Family Services Legal Aid Society, Southwest Organizing Project, and Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.
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