Local and state leaders call out Trump Administration over DACA delays

Representative Scott Peters and other leaders joined together in San Diego Tuesday to voice their concerns about the renewal delays for DACA recipients.

Local leaders are urging the Trump Administration to expedite the process because they say the delays, which are now taking four to six months, are putting people’s lives at risk and employers at risk of losing trained workers.

In San Diego alone, leaders say about 8,000 DACA recipients make up the local workforce, including nurses, construction workers, STEM workers and firefighters.

“For a small business that means losing an employee overnight, trying to fill a hole in an already tight labor market,” said Chris Cate with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“These are people we want as our neighbors,” said Rep. Peters, who defended the recipients, saying they usually arrive with their families to the U.S. as young children.