A growing backlog in renewal applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is creating hardships for many DACA recipients, including delayed work authorizations and financial difficulties, Congresswoman Luz Rivas wrote in a letter to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“My constituents with DACA status continue to report extraordinary delays in USCIS processing times … [preventing] DACA recipients from maintaining valid work authorization, placing their livelihoods and employment at risk,” wrote Rivas, who represents District 29, addressing USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow. “As a result, many are experiencing severe financial hardship and face the prospect of unemployment, housing instability, immigration detention and removal due to the lack of proper documentation caused by the Trump administration’s delayed adjudications.”
Launched in 2012, DACA provides temporary deportation protection and renewable work permits for undocumented individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children. DACA recipients – approximately 500,000 nationwide, including 140,000 in California – must submit renewal applications every two years, up to five months before their current status expires.
The current average processing time for DACA renewals is approximately three-and-a-half months, according to USCIS. However, processing delays have been reported nationwide, and Rivas stated that some of her constituents have experienced delays lasting up to eight months.
“In my district, constituents have already lost their jobs and are facing eviction because of USCIS’s failure to adjudicate applications in a timely fashion,” wrote Rivas. “Prompt adjudication of DACA renewal applications is critical to safeguarding the economic security and well-being of hardworking individuals, their families and the communities that depend on their contributions. I am urging you to take immediate steps to address the USCIS renewal backlogs.”
Delayed DACA Renewals Impact All Sectors
The backlog has even sidelined two officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) – identified only as LAPD Officers Pacheco and Carrillo – who have both been placed on unpaid leave pending the renewal of their DACA Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
“I consider this backlog situation an orchestrated campaign by the Trump administration to remove residents who are here … sin papeles [undocumented], but I think it’s a very misguided policy,” said retired San Fernando High School teacher Alex Reza. “They say it’s supposedly due to a backlog, but that’s probably because the Trump administration has not provided the resources necessary to process all of the [DACA] renewal applications.”
Reza noted that the DACA backlog is not only affecting the ability of individuals to work and support their families, but its impact on the LAPD could also negatively affect community safety.
“The LAPD is [already] having trouble recruiting officers,” added Reza. According to public records, the department currently has its lowest number of sworn officers in nearly 25 years.
“We need workers – we need people [who provide] some very basic essential services, and, in the case of the police officers, who are also part of our public safety infrastructure,” he said.
“I agree with the pope. He got it right – it’s a moral failure,” he continued, noting that Pope Leo XIV has spoken out several times against Trump’s immigration policies. “On a moral basis, what’s happening contradicts some of the very basic ideas that our country was built on – appreciating and welcoming immigrants, who are an important part of the success of our economic system in this country.”
Nearly 100 individuals awaiting DACA renewals have contacted Rivas’ office since January of this year, with many experiencing delays of six months or longer, said a spokesperson.
Those who reside in District 29 who need assistance can call Rivas’ Arleta office at (818) 253-3535.