Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, on Tuesday convened San Diego regional leaders to urge the Trump Administration to process Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications in a timely manner.
According to the Peters, current delays for DACA recipients at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seem "intentional and politically motivated," and processing times have doubled.
"Nearly 9,000 DACA recipients call San Diego home. They work hard, pay taxes, and contribute tens of millions of dollars to our local economy every year. For many of them, the U.S. is the only home they've ever known," Peters said. "I spoke out when Donald Trump attacked DACA the first time, but our work is not over. We need answers from this administration about the never- ending delays at USCIS. How do they plan to address the backlog they created? Are DACA recipients being detained because of this lag?"
DACA is an immigration policy created in 2012 which allows people brought into the United States illegally as children the temporary right to live, study and work legally in America. More than half a million "Dreamers" now call the U.S. home.
In San Diego alone, Dreamers contribute $968 million annually to the local economy, a statement from Peters' office read. Delayed renewal of their applications carries risks for San Diego-area businesses.
"Every day a DACA renewal sits in a backlog is a day a San Diego business risks losing one of its own employees," said Chris Cate, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. "After more than a decade of temporary protections, it's time for Congress to deliver a permanent, bipartisan solution that gives Dreamers the stability they deserve and gives San Diego employers the certainty they need."
DACA must be renewed every two years, and work authorizations cannot be renewed until DACA status is renewed.
"Delays in processing DACA renewals are inexcusable and negligent," said Dr. Arcela Nunez-Alvarez, cofounder and director of Universidad Popular. "These delays expose applicants to unnecessary suffering, including loss of work authorization, income, health coverage, and educational opportunities, and most importantly, loss of immigration protection. The delays create an adverse domino effect, increasing vulnerability for applicants and their families."
In 2017, during his first administration, President Donald Trump and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted to repeal DACA, only to be thwarted in a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, which found the repeal efforts "arbitrary and capricious."
President Joe Biden promised to reinstate the program in 2020, only to be challenged by nine states and paused by federal Judge Andrew Hanan. Hanan's ruling prevents new DACA applications, but allows those already in the system to keep their status.
Finally, in Trump's second term, his DHS urged DACA recipients to "self-deport" and authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to make hundreds of arrests of those attempting to renew their status.
"For 18 months, this administration's chaotic, capricious, and arbitrary approach to immigration enforcement has been fundamentally about sowing fear and disrupting our communities," said Carol Kim, executive secretary-treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. "It also disrupts the ability of anyone to do business and reliably work, not just the workers who are targeted, but every working person whose specific tasks or projects are derailed by disappearing co-workers, disappearing funding, and disappearing basic government functions. Every American who expects that work to come through pays the price, too."
