Bay Area Democrats Demand Answers on DACA Renewal Backlog | KQED

Bay Area lawmakers urged federal immigration officials to address lengthy delays in processing DACA renewal requests. Constituents have reported up to five-month processing times to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival grants. When renewals lapse, DACA recipients can lose employment, income stability, health insurance, and protection from deportation. The delays also affect schools and employers, including Dreamer educators placed on unpaid administrative leave mid-year and workers missing shifts because properly filed renewals remain unadjudicated. DACA was created in 2012, does not provide a pathway to citizenship or legal status, and requires renewal every two years, making timely processing essential for recipients’ daily lives.

"Bay Area congresspeople raised concerns Tuesday about processing delays for DACA renewals, which have left some residents unable to attend school or work, and at risk of deportation, amid the federal government's immigration crackdown. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services leaders, the representatives said their constituents have experienced up to five-month processing times to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival grants, which allow undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children to live in the U.S. without fear of deportation."

""When renewals lapse, DACA recipients face disruptions to employment, income stability, and daily life - effects that ripple beyond individual households into the broader regional economy," the letter from Silicon Valley Rep. Sam Liccardo, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and the nine other Bay Area representatives said. "The consequences are already visible in our state: school districts are placing Dreamer educators on unpaid administrative leave mid-year, and other workers are missing shifts, because timely, properly filed renewals remain unadjudicated.""

"DACA was created in 2012 and has never been considered a long-term solution - it isn't a pathway to citizenship or legal status and requires renewal every two years. That renewal process has generally been considered fairly simple and quick, but Liccardo said that's changed in recent months."

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