WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined 40 Senate colleagues in a letter to outgoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow demanding the Department 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.

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), President Trump’s nominee to replace Secretary Noem, also received a copy of this letter.

“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,” wrote the Senators. “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.”

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 Department, as many as 270 DACA recipients have been detained and 174 have been deported.

“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,” concluded the Senators. “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.”

Read the full letter HERE.  

Senator Gallego has consistently stood up for Dreamers in the Senate:

  • In September, Senator Gallego demanded answers from DHS on the agency’s targeting and arrest of Dreamers.  
  • In July, Senator Gallego reintroduced the Fight for the American Dream Act, which allows DACA participants to serve in the United States military and provides them a pathway toward U.S. citizenship after their service.  
  • In June, Gallego joined 40 Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resume processing DACA applications nearly three months after a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that limited a nationwide injunction to Texas.
  • In May, Senator Gallego introduced a plan to address the broken state of America’s border and immigration system. Pillar four of the plan emphasizes providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and long-term undocumented residents who contribute to our communities.