Max Herman/Borderless MagazineThe Chicago Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights approved a resolution calling for stronger protections for DACA recipients in Chicago during a hearing on Thursday.
In a hearing today, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights urged Congress to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to create a path to citizenship for DACA recipients.
The resolution, passed on Thursday, declares Chicago’s support for expanding DACA and condemns President Donald Trump’s handling of the program.
The move came as local DACA recipients have faced delays in their renewal requests over the past few months, with some experiencing DACA lapses and, in turn, losing their work authorizations and protection from deportation.
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“These are people who came here as children and have grown into invaluable members of our community, serving our neighborhood, spreading success, rebuilding our economy, and building our city and our nation’s future,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the committee, during the hearing. “Despite their many contributions, DACA recipients remain in a state of limbo.”
Vasquez and Ald. Jeylú Gutiérrez (14th) cosponsored the resolution.
What’s Happening with DACA
DACA is a federal program initiated in 2012 during the Obama administration that defers the removal of certain individuals who came to the U.S. as children and are undocumented. It also provides DACA recipients with Social Security Numbers and work permits, but it does not provide a path to lawful status.
There are over 500,000 active DACA recipients across the country. About 26,000 DACA recipients live in Illinois.
Trump has been challenging the program and seeking to phase it out since his first term, citing its inception as an unconstitutional executive power overreach.
In April, the U.S. Department of Justice ruled that having DACA is not sufficient grounds for relief from deportation.
Claudia Marchan, executive director of Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors, told the committee during a public comment that the renewal application process needs to be sped up and DACA recipients should be better protected from deportation.
“Legal benefits like DACA should be upheld, respected, and people should feel safe with these DACA protections,” said Marchan, a former DACA recipient.
Long Renewal Delays Despite the challenges to DACA, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is still processing DACA renewal applications, which must be filed every two years to continue in the program, as well as accompanying employment authorization applications. USCIS is also accepting initial DACA requests, but they are not currently being processed.
According to the agency’s case processing time website, about 80% of renewal requests are processed within 3.5 months. The federal agency recommends applicants apply four to five months before their current DACA expires. However, some applicants have been waiting more than five months to hear back from USCIS.
Cecilia Mendoza, associate director of government relations at the National Immigrant Justice Center, told the committee that DACA renewal delays are impacting NIJC’s clients who want to work.
“Many of our in-house and pro bono clients’ benefits are lapsing, and we are seeing them lose their jobs and access to employer-sponsored healthcare,” said Mendoza.
Some immigration legal service providers have been encouraging clients to apply as early as possible.
Mendoza said NIJC is seeing five- to six-month delays in DACA renewal applications. They have been recommending that applicants begin their renewal process at least six to eight months before their current benefits expire.
However, Sofia Chunga Pizarro, program coordinator for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said applicants risk having their renewal denied if they apply too early.
“These systematic uncertainties pose real threats to DACA recipients who are at risk of losing their jobs and ability to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of living,” said Chunga.
Beyond DACA
Immigrant advocates at the committee hearing pushed elected officials to think beyond DACA’s future to more permanent solutions.
Hyein Lee, chief operating officer, and Gabriela Pacheco, president, of TheDream.US. called on Congress to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act.
The DREAM Act, which was first introduced in the U.S. Senate in 2001, would create a path to lawful permanent residency and citizenship for qualifying undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.
Susana Salgado, director of youth programs at Centro Romero, and Mendoza asked that the city continue to fund programs like the Chicago Legal Protection Fund, which supports immigration education and legal services through partner organizations, like Centro Romero and NIJC.
Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd) gave an emotional comment to the committee in support of the resolution.
“I want every DACA recipient, every immigrant here to know, not only you belong here, but we are so lucky that you’re here,” she said.
The resolution will be recommended for a vote at the next City Council meeting on June 17.
Aydali Campa is a Report for America corps member and covers environmental justice and immigrant communities for Borderless Magazine. Send her an email at [email protected].
