Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and U.S. Representative Joe Neguse, alongside Colorado U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and U.S. Representatives Brittany Pettersen, Yadira Caraveo, Diana DeGette, and Jason Crow, called on United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to investigate delays in employment authorization renewals for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and swiftly implement reforms to their system.
“Each of our offices have received numerous requests from constituents that have been unable to renew their employment authorizations in a timely manner, leading to many losing their employment as a result of these delays,” wrote Bennet, Neguse, and the lawmakers. “The over 13,000 Dreamers located throughout Colorado are actively contributing to our economy and nation every day and should be able to renew their employment authorizations in a timely manner.”
In their letter, the lawmakers note that USCIS’ reported processing times for DACA recipients’ employment authorization renewals do not align with what their offices have heard from Colorado constituents. While USCIS reports one to two months as its median processing time, several constituents report waiting six to eight months for their renewed employment authorization.
“Dreamers have faced a barrage of legal challenges in recent years and many live in constant fear of their protections being taken away,” the lawmakers concluded. “It is unfortunate that they are now forced to face yet another hurdle while they navigate this uncertain process. It is with that in mind, that we believe this issue must be resolved immediately.”
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Director Jaddou,
As members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation, we write to request immediate action by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to address considerable and detrimental delays in processing employment authorization renewal applications for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Each of our offices have received numerous requests from constituents that have been unable to renew their employment authorizations in a timely manner, leading to many losing their employment as a result of these delays. Current Federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1324a) and Federal regulations provide that DACA recipients may lawfully work within the United States. The over 13,000 Dreamers located throughout Colorado are actively contributing to our economy and nation every day and should be able to renew their employment authorizations in a timely manner.
Current reporting from USCIS indicates that the median processing times for I-765 applications was a month for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and 1.8 months for FY 2024. However, these processing times do not appear to reflect what we have heard from the constituents we are working with directly. We hope that you will investigate the reasons for these delays and quickly implement reforms to address the longer waiting periods.
As you are well aware, Dreamers have faced a barrage of legal challenges in recent years and many live in constant fear of their protections being taken away. It is unfortunate that they are now forced to face yet another hurdle while they navigate this uncertain process. It is with that in mind, that we believe this issue must be resolved immediately.
We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to continuing to work with your office to defend the protections for Dreamers and to uphold our American values as a nation of refuge and opportunity.
Sincerely,
