Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Feds must receive DACA renewal forms by Thursday
FILE: Volunteers from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) protest with banners and placards over a freeway in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 28, 2017 to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.
(
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
)
Federal officials are reminding young unauthorized immigrants eligible to renew their protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, that their renewal forms must be received by Thursday.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials said they must have the DACA renewal applications in hand by end of day on Oct. 5, not by a postmark date.
Last month, President Trump rescinded the DACA program, which lets roughly 800,000 young unauthorized immigrants live and work in the U.S. legally. Beginning in 2012, the Obama-era program gave temporary protection to young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before age 16.
When Trump rescinded the program effective March 5, those whose two-year permits were set to expire before that date were given a month to renew one last time.
Support for LAist comes from
Since then, legal providers have been working feverishly to process renewal applicants. On Tuesday, last-minute applicants were still seeking help.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles said there were about 40 people lined up Tuesday morning to get advice on filling out DACA renewal forms.
The applications must be mailed in, and cannot be submitted online. Cabrera said in an email that his organization is advising applicants to mail their forms in no later than noon Wednesday "to have a strong chance" of getting their applications received in time.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday that of about 154,200 people whose DACA status was set to expire between Sept. 5 and March 5, "just over 106,000 either have renewal requests currently pending with USCIS, or have already had USCIS adjudicate their renewal request."
That still leaves tens of thousands who are eligible to apply for renewal who have yet to submit applications.
“For individuals who are still eligible to request renewal of their deferred action under DACA, but have not yet done so, I urge you to make this a priority," Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said in the statement.
The one-month period that the Trump administration gave DACA recipients to renew prompted several lawmakers to urge the deadline be extended. Some Los Angeles County supervisors joined in on the request.
Support for LAist comes from
So far federal officials have not changed the deadline. Duke said in her statement that DACA renewal applications from hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands would be considered on a "case-by-case basis" in light of communications and infrastructure problems, but that fewer than 20 DACA recipients from both places had yet to renew.
The $495 federal processing fee for DACA renewals has also been an obstacle for some. Private donors, individual schools and colleges, and others stepped up to contribute toward applicants' costs. California lawmakers also recently committed funding for some legal providers that can be applied toward low-income applicants' renewal fees.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has a list of where to send renewal forms on its website.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance. -
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
Best of LAist