Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, alongside 39 of their Senate Democratic colleagues, urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Angelica Alfonso-Royals to immediately resume processing applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“Noncitizens brought to the United States as children, often known as Dreamers, are American in every way but their immigration status…Americans overwhelmingly support providing Dreamers a path to citizenship, and in December 2024, President Trump stated that he supported protections for Dreamers to remain in the United States,” wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, and the senators.
In 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen halted the DACA program, temporarily preventing USCIS from approving any new DACA applications nationwide. While the program was paused, USCIS continued to accept and hold initial applications. Then, in 2022, the Department of Homeland Security published the DACA Final Rule, which codified the 2012 memorandum establishing the DACA program into regulation.
Earlier this year, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision limiting Judge Hanen’s injunction to Texas. The ruling allows the Trump administration to resume processing DACA applications until a final decision is made. In their letter, the senators urge Acting Director Alfonso-Royals to resume processing DACA applications, emphasizing that over 100,000 initial applications are currently pending with USCIS.
“Consistent with this statement, we implore you to use your authority at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume processing initial applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and provide such protections for Dreamers immediately,” continued the senators.
Bennet has long fought for commonsense, bipartisan immigration reforms, and has long supported offering a path to citizenship for DACA and Temporary Protected Status recipients. In 2013, Bennet was a part of the “Gang of Eight,” a bipartisan group of senators that drafted the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act that passed the Senate. In January of this year, Bennet introduced three amendments to the Laken Riley Act to protect the right to due process and move towards a humane, commonsense immigration system. In March 2024, Bennet called on Former President Biden to provide protection and pathways to residency or citizenship for undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients holders in the United States. The same month, Bennet and Colorado lawmakers called on USCIS to investigate delays in employment authorization renewals for DACA recipients and swiftly implement reforms.
In addition to Bennet and Hickenlooper, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Acting Director Alfonso-Royals:
Noncitizens brought to the United States as children, often known as Dreamers, are American in every way but their immigration status. Many only know this country as their home, and they contribute every day to this great nation by paying taxes and serving in critical roles, such as police officers, teachers, and nurses. Americans overwhelmingly support providing Dreamers a path to citizenship, and in December 2024, President Trump stated that he supported protections for Dreamers to remain in the United States. Consistent with this statement, we implore you to use your authority at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume processing initial applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and provide such protections for Dreamers immediately.
In 2001, the Dream Act was introduced on a bipartisan basis to provide a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children but remained vulnerable to deportation. Since that time, the Dream Act has been introduced in every Congress. It has passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate with bipartisan majority votes, but no version has yet to be signed into law. In response to bipartisan pressure to protect Dreamers until Congress acted, the Obama Administration implemented DACA through a policy memorandum in 2012.
Since 2012, more than 825,000 people have received deferred action pursuant to DACA. Many DACA recipients report that deferred action—and the accompanying employment authorization —allowed them to apply for their first job or move to a higher-paying position more commensurate with their skills. Since its establishment, DACA recipients have contributed an estimated $140 billion to the U.S. economy in spending power, and $40 billion dollars in combined federal, payroll, state, and local taxes.
In 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen halted the DACA program and enjoined USCIS from approving any new DACA applications nationwide. While the program was enjoined, USCIS has continued to accept and hold initial applications, and in 2022, the Department of Homeland Security published the DACA Final Rule, codifying the 2012 memorandum establishing DACA into regulation. Over 100,000 initial DACA applications are pending with USCIS.
On January 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision limiting Judge Hanen’s injunction to Texas. Pursuant to the order, in Texas, DACA must resume as a limited program providing protection from deportation for current DACA recipients, but without access to work authorization or driver’s licenses as part of those renewals. This order went into effect on March 11, giving USCIS the authority to start processing initial DACA applications from states other than Texas. However, three months later, USCIS has not made any public announcement on whether new DACA applications will be processed; nor has the agency begun processing initial applications that have been pending with the agency for years.
We urge you to begin processing these DACA applications immediately, consistent with the Fifth Circuit decision and existing regulations, and to ensure Dreamers eligible to file initial DACA applications can do so as soon as possible.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.