Rep. Peters, Businesses, and Labor Leaders Call on Trump Admin to Stop Stalling DACA Renewals
San Diego, CA – Today, Rep. Scott Peters convened business, labor, and community leaders to urge the Trump Administration to process Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications in a timely manner. Delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which seem intentional and politically motivated, have slowed renewal processing time to almost double what it used to be.
“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,” Rep. 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?”
President Trump’s immigration policies have impacted the cost of healthcare, groceries, rent, and electricity. This is in part due to the delays in renewals which threaten the livelihoods of legal immigrants and put undue stress on businesses who are faced with uncertainty as their valued employees await decisions about their status. In San Diego alone, Dreamers, including DACA recipients, contribute $968 million annually to the local economy.
"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 & CEO, 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.”
“Delays in processing DACA renewals are inexcusable and negligent,” said Dr. Arcela Nunez-Alvarez, Co-Founder and Co-Director, 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.”
“For a small business barely making payroll, DACA renewal delays mean shorter hours, slower service, lost revenue, and thousands of dollars in turnover costs – money that should be going to wages, growth, and this community,” said Trevor Moore, Vice President, Cush Enterprises. “DACA recipients have done everything by the book their entire lives. They register with the federal government and ask permission to keep working and paying taxes. Our economy is nothing without the effort and loyalty of these people.”
"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, 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 coworkers, disappearing funding, and disappearing basic government functions. Every American who expects that work to come through pays the price, too.”
DACA must be renewed every two years, and work authorizations cannot be renewed until DACA status is renewed. Rep. Scott Peters’ office is seeing the highest volume of immigration casework requests during his time in Congress, driven by these mounting delays which affect our community and economy.
A livestreamed recording of the press conference can be viewed here. Additional photos from the event, courtesy of the office of Rep. Scott Peters, can be viewed here.
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