CHC Calls on DHS to Protect “Dreamers” Facing Looming Deadline Uncertainty

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) and the rest of the CHC’s leadership team -- Congressmen Joaquín Castro (D-TX), Caucus First Vice Chair; Rubén Gallego (D-AZ), Caucus Second Vice Chair; Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Caucus Whip; and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Caucus Freshman Representative -- sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urging her not to target DACA recipients who have fallen out of status and to use prosecutorial discretion to protect from detention and deportation those who may otherwise be apprehended in the course of operations, and to fully protect DACA applicants’ confidential and sensitive information from use in immigration enforcement matters. This letter comes the day after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released data showing a backlog of tens of thousands of initial DACA applications waiting to be processed, and thousands of pending renewal applications filed by individuals who will begin losing status on March 6th. “Unfortunately, President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not truly want to solve this DACA crisis… Given this posture, it is critical that DHS ensure that DACA recipients are not deported from the only country they have known and protect the confidential information DACA recipients submitted to the government,” they wrote. See the letter here.