Por Ignacia Rodriguez (NILC) y Sanaa Abrar y Greisa Martinez (United We Dream)

Última actualización 29 DE ENERO DE 2018 | English version

El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de EE.UU. (USCIS, por su sigla en inglés) ha anunciado que volverá a aceptar solicitudes de renovación de DACA (Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia) a partir del 13 de enero de 2018. Este cambio de política es en respuesta a la medida cautelar de una corte de distrito de EE.UU. en San Francisco dictada el 9 de enero que requiere al gobierno federal que vuelva a aceptar solicitudes de renovación de DACA. Este cambio de posición se debe a varias demandas que disputaron la decisión de la administración Trump del 5 de septiembre de 2017 de dar por terminado el programa DACA, que es inmensamente popular.

Esta es otra victoria en el camino a obtener una solución permanente para los jóvenes inmigrantes, la Ley Dream, en lo posible para el 8 de febrero. Proporcionaremos actualizaciones a medida que recibamos más información, pero he aquí cinco cosas que creemos que debe saber:

1. USCIS está aceptando ahora ciertas solicitudes de renovación de DACA. Si su DACA venció a partir del 5 de septiembre de 2016, puede enviar a USCIS una solicitud de renovación de DACA. Para esto tiene que llenar la última versión del formulario I-821D, Consideración de acción diferida para los llegados en la infancia; el formulario I-765, Solicitud de autorización de empleo; y el formulario I-765WS, Hoja de trabajo. Si su DACA venció antes del 5 de septiembre de 2016, tiene que volver a solicitarla como si fuera la primera vez, en vez de renovarla. Ya sea que presente su solicitud de DACA inicial o una solicitud de renovación, tiene que incluir la fecha en que venció o va a vencer su DACA en la parte 1 del formulario I-821D.

2. USCIS no aceptará solicitudes de DACA de personas que no la han solicitado anteriormente. USCIS no aceptará solicitudes de DACA de personas que nunca la tuvieron. Si usted es elegible para DACA pero no la solicitó en el pasado, este anuncio no se aplica a su caso.

3. No se aceptarán solicitudes de permiso de reingreso (permiso adelantado de viaje) de los beneficiarios de DACA. USCIS no aceptará ni aprobará solicitudes de permiso de reingreso de los beneficiarios de DACA.

4. No sabemos por cuánto tiempo USCIS seguirá aceptando solicitudes de renovación de DACA. La administración Trump declaró que piensa disputar “vigorosamente” la decisión de la corte de distrito. Esto quiere decir que el periodo en que podrá presentar solicitudes de renovación de DACA es incierto. Si cumple con los requisitos mencionados más arriba, debe evaluar si le conviene presentar su solicitud inmediatamente.

5. ¡Nuestra lucha para conseguir que se apruebe la Ley Dream para el 8 de febrero continúa! Este es un testamento al trabajo que los jóvenes indocumentados han liderado para combatir la decisión de Trump de dar por terminado con el programa DACA, anunciada el 5 de septiembre de 2017. No obstante, no podemos seguir nuestras vidas en un limbo cotidiano, o mensual. Nuestra meta es clara: conseguir la aprobación de la Ley Dream para el 8 de febrero. No todos los miembros de nuestra comunidad están protegidos por DACA, de manera que seguimos corriendo el riesgo de detención y deportación hasta obtener una solución legislativa permanente. Envíe un mensaje de texto con el contenido “DreamActNow” al 877877 para aprender cómo se puede sumar a la presión sobre el Congreso para que se coloque en el lado correcto de la historia, ¡y promulgue la Ley Dream para el 8 de febrero!

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy Ignacia Rodriguez, NILC, and Sanaa Abrar and Greisa Martinez, United We Dream

Last updated JANUARY 29, 2018 | Versión en español

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it would resume accepting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewal applications beginning January 13, 2018. This policy change is in response to the January 9 injunction by a U.S. district court in San Francisco requiring the federal government to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. This policy reversal is the result of several lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s September 5, 2017, decision to terminate the wildly successful DACA program.

This is another victory on the path to winning a permanent solution for immigrant youth, which is the Dream Act, optimally by February 8. We will be providing updates as more information becomes available, but here are the top five things we think you should know:

1. USCIS is now accepting certain DACA renewal applications. If your DACA expired on or after September 5, 2016, you may send USCIS a DACA renewal application. This means you must fill out the latest versions of Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and Form I-765WS Worksheet. If your DACA expired before September 5, 2016, you must reapply by filing your application as a first-time one rather than as a renewal. All applicants, whether filing as first-timers or as renewing, must include the date their DACA expired or will expire on Part 1 of the Form I-821D.

2. USCIS will not accept new DACA applications from people who haven’t applied previously. No actually first-time DACA applications will be accepted by USCIS. If you are eligible for DACA now but have not applied for it in the past, this announcement does not apply to you.

3. Requests for advance parole from DACA recipients will not be accepted. USCIS will not accept or approve any advance parole requests from DACA recipients.

4. We do not know how long USCIS will continue to accept DACA renewal applications. The Trump administration stated that it plans to “vigorously” challenge the district court’s decision. This means that the window of time available for submitting your DACA renewal application is uncertain. If you fulfill the requirements mentioned above, you should assess whether to apply immediately.

5. Our fight to get the Dream Act passed by February 8 continues! This is a testament to the work that undocumented youth have led to fight back against Trump’s decision to end DACA, which was announced on Sept. 5, 2017. However, we can’t keep living our lives in monthly — or daily — limbo. Our goal is clear: win the Dream Act by February 8. Not all of us are protected by DACA, so our community remains at risk of detention and deportation until we win a permanent legislative solution. Text DreamActNow to 877877 to learn how you can join us in pressuring Congress to stand on the right side of history and pass the Dream Act by February 8!

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy Alvaro M. Huerta, NILC staff attorney
January 9, 2018

Tonight’s season premiere episode, “Sanctuary,” of “The Fosters” on the Freeform channel touches on some important topics related to how our country’s immigration system continues to rip families apart.

In last season’s finale, Callie and AJ helped their friend Ximena seek sanctuary in a church when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) came looking for Ximena because she had spoken out at a rally and disclosed that she’s undocumented. Ximena was previously granted protection from deportation through a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which President Obama’s administration initiated in 2012.

DACA allowed young immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to get temporary protection from deportation and eligibility to work in the U.S. To maintain these benefits, DACA recipients had to apply to renew it every two years. Ximena didn’t renew her DACA because she was afraid of getting her family in trouble with ICE, so her protection under DACA had ended and, although she did eventually apply to renew it, the renewal still had not been approved at the time ICE came to arrest her.

What’s happened to Ximena in “The Fosters” happens to thousands of immigrant youth every day. In fact, Ximena’s story mirrors that of a young woman named Daniela “Dany” Vargas, whose DACA status had also lapsed and who was detained by ICE and placed in deportation proceedings just minutes after participating in a rally to protest immigration raids.

The Trump administration terminated the DACA program this past September. A fraction of the nearly 800,000 young people with DACA were allowed to apply to renew it during a short, one-month window. While some were able to renew their DACA in that time, at least 1,900 people had their applications wrongly rejected due to problems with the mail. Others had applications rejected because of small clerical-type errors, or because they couldn’t pull together enough funds in such a short amount of time to pay the nearly $500 renewal application fee. To date, over 15,000 people have lost their DACA status and, with it, their temporary protection from deportation and their ability to provide from themselves and their families.

Back on “The Fosters,” Ximena finds sanctuary in a local church. Many religious institutions have bravely decided to stand up against the harsh deportation system. They are supporting their communities’ immigrant members by providing sanctuary and connecting immigrant families at risk of deportation with local immigration attorneys and immigrants’ rights organizations. Under most circumstances, ICE may not enter private spaces, including a church or someone’s home, without a valid search warrant signed by a judge.

But not all undocumented immigrants are able to find sanctuary. That’s why it’s important to know what your rights are and what to do if ICE comes looking for you or your family. Ximena had a plan. She knew to check in right away with family members and to reach out to her family’s immigration attorney, whose telephone number she had memorized. You can also locate a family member who’s been detained by searching online, and you can connect with a local nonprofit immigrants’ rights organization to get support. If you witness an immigration raid or see someone being detained by ICE, you can record ICE’s or the police’s actions, but do so from a safe distance and without getting in the way of the officers.

Fortunately, there is a solution for people such as Ximena and her family. Congress has an opportunity to pass the Dream Act, a bill that would grant legal status to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and for whom this country is the only home they’ve ever known. Congress is currently negotiating with the White House on what will be included in the Dream Act, and the goal is to see the bill become law soon. But we need to let Congress know that we demand the Dream Act so that families like Ximena’s won’t be torn apart!

It’s important to raise the visibility of immigrants caught up by the deportation system. Using social media like Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube is one way to get the word out about the Dream Act and people like Ximena who are as American as anyone else. We cannot stand by while thousands of children are separated from their parents. People rallied outside of the church where Ximena took refuge and shamed ICE into leaving. We need to make immigrants’ stories even more visible!

Callie and AJ stepped in to help Ximena when she was in need, and the Fosters were there when Callie needed them most. It’s important to have a support network when you and your family are caught up in the broken immigration system. The Fosters stepped up for Ximena. Let’s all step up for our immigrant friends and family by making sure that Congress passes the Dream Act now!

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy NILC staff
Sept. 22, 2017

Immigrants are caught in a complex and opaque web of databases, related systems, and information-sharing mechanisms that make it easier for immigration enforcement to disrupt their lives and prevent them from fully participating in economic and social life in the United States.

These databases, systems, and mechanisms often depend on the entanglement of state and local law enforcement or licensing agencies with federal immigration and law enforcement agencies.

Advocates, including NILC, have raised many concerns about how these databases and information-sharing mechanisms work. President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) implementation memos will expand immigration enforcement dramatically without due process protections, increase state and local involvement in immigration enforcement, and undermine federal Privacy Act guarantees.

We took a closer look at these entanglements between immigration and law enforcement and outlined what we found in our new report, Untangling the Immigration Enforcement Web: Basic Information for Advocates about Databases and Information-Sharing Among Federal, State, and Local Agencies. This report describes how some of these databases and information-sharing networks work but also outlines actions local advocates can take to minimize these entanglements.

Below are some highlights of the report:

• The FBI’s Next Generation Identification database and DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System are interoperable, meaning fingerprints of an arrested person may be checked against both databases.
• State and local law enforcement have access to federal databases that contain civil immigration information, while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has access to local law enforcement databases that allow it to identify immigrants who have been arrested. Jails also often give ICE agents access to jails, along with lists of people being held.
• Informal contact also exists among all these agencies. An example of this might be a local police officer contacting ICE regarding a stopped driver if they suspect the driver is undocumented.
• Local, state, and federal gang databases also interact. These databases identify certain people as gang members, often without much reason, and may include photos and other information. ICE even started its own gang database in 2010. Because gang members have long been considered a priority for immigration enforcement, being identified as a gang member or someone who “associates” with gang members can have dramatic consequences for immigrants.
• Mobile biometrics technologies, such as mobile fingerprinting and iris scans, may be used by ICE agents on people “encountered” during investigations, in violation of legal standards established by the Fourth Amendment, such as probable cause. This can result in so-called “collateral” arrests of people who were not originally targeted. This biometric information is also kept in databases, even for people who were not arrested.
• ICE has used department of motor vehicles (DMV) records to locate individuals for immigration enforcement purposes and has used DMVs’ technological capacities, such as facial recognition software, to identify and locate targets. ICE has also asked DMVs to “run” license plates at particular addresses in order to determine the identities of residents there.

Though these potentially unconstitutional information-sharing mechanisms are disturbing, there are many ways advocates can fight back, including pressuring local governments to stop these types of cooperation among agencies, alerting media to individual stories of discrimination, filing lawsuits, and more. There are also ways to file complaints directly with the agencies when they improperly use biometrics devices, and local governments should also be asked to ensure that Privacy Act standards apply to noncitizens.

More details on these databases and information-sharing systems—along with more ideas on how to fight back—can be found in the report.

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy Kamal Essaheb, NILC director of policy and advocacy
September 7, 2017

This week President Trump shut the door on nearly a million young people, and didn’t even have the courage to face their questions. This callous and immoral decision that requires all of us who choose to be on the right side of history to speak out and let our elected leaders know that this is not the type of country we want to be.

Trump chose to put hundreds of thousands young immigrants across the country in peril by announcing an imminent end to the undeniably successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

For five years, DACA has allowed these youth, often referred to as “dreamers,” to come forward and pursue the same educational, professional and life opportunities available to anyone who grew up in the U.S. It is up to all of us to ensure that these protections remain in place. We must continue to raise our voices and tell our representatives in Congress to swiftly pass the Dream Act of 2017.

This is a defining moment for our country. Trump again gave in to his anti-immigrant advisors and base, putting politics above people—hate over reason. He chose to pull the rug out from under nearly a million people who are working, studying and contributing to their communities. In doing so, he is putting their families, their livelihood and their sense of security and belonging in this country at stake.

Trump’s decision to end DACA is the latest in an abhorrent pattern of immoral and, in many cases, unlawful attacks on immigrants, communities of color, and other disenfranchised Americans. Following his comments on Charlottesville and the pardoning of Joe Arpaio, Trump has again made it clear that white supremacists have their greatest ally in the White House. We cannot let this disgusting vision for America’s future to prevail.

Faced with yet another unconscionable act by Trump, we are ready to fight with the brave young people and allies who fought for and won DACA. But we are much stronger when people from all walks of life get involved. Whether you’re a teacher, nurse, coach, or a local leader, now is the time to stand side by side with dreamers and up for what’s right.

DACA recipients did everything we asked them to do. They voluntarily came forward, provided information, paid a fee and went through background checks. They relied on a promise by the federal government to allow them to live and work here, and keep their information safe. We must all keep the government from reneging on that promise. And we must not allow Trump to use the lives of these young people to advance his own agenda.

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy NILC staff
August 25, 2017

Getting a driver’s license, finding a job, going to college—these are milestones in life that most of us take for granted, but for more than 800,000 young people, these things are only possible because of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

We asked DACA recipients, along with their friends and family members, to tell us what DACA means for them. The responses poured in, and the message was plain: DACA changes lives.

Fatima, for instance, was able to launch a successful career in interior design in New York City after getting DACA, and Yanet got her nursing assistant license and started working in an acute rehabilitation facility in Arizona.

Maria, of Phoenix, bought a home and started her own business, and Shahrzad loves paying taxes because she’s proud to contribute to her country.

DACA recipients are part of the everyday fabric of our communities. They’re hair stylists, software developers, dental hygienists, and more. To pull the rug from under their feet would not only be absurdly cruel, it would undermine the whole economy. Reports estimate that ending DACA could reduce the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $433.4 billion over the next 10 years, but that doesn’t even begin to touch the personal losses people could suffer if families are torn apart.

With rumors again circulating that the Trump administration may soon end DACA, it is more important than ever to share these stories and remind everyone how critical this program is for individuals and our communities. We urge everyone to share these stories, and their own, with the hashtag #DefendDACA. There’s no time to waste. DACA is under real threat, and we must show that we won’t let it go without a hell of a fight.

You can find the DACA stories we’ve collected so far here. We continue to add more daily, so check back often.

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy Michelle Saucedo, NILC summer intern
August 15, 2017

Happy fifth DACA anniversary!

I cautiously celebrate this milestone as I recognize DACA’s success, while grappling with the concern about its possible rescission and what that could mean to so many people in this country. Since DACA’s implementation in 2012, over 800, 000 people have benefited from it, getting a chance to work with authorization, along with a reprieve from the threat of deportation.

Although its benefits are granted only for a renewable period of two years, many people took a chance on the program, putting their faith in the same government that had failed to deliver on immigration reform and continued to separate families. DACA was not the ultimate goal or desired solution, but it was a welcome reprieve for so many undocumented people who yearned to move ahead and provide for themselves, their families, and the country they call home.

While I was a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)–accredited representative at Asian Americans Advancing Justice–L.A., I had the privilege of assisting DACA applicants and their families and got to learn about the life-changing opportunities that having deferred action brought them. I witnessed families sacrifice their savings so their child could apply. I felt the determination of applicants who continued their GED classes while working full time. I saw their hope that all these investments would be worthwhile. Now, working as a summer law clerk at NILC, I continue to see the resilience of this population and their allies.

The mental, emotional, and financial investments in DACA proved worthwhile for Naomi (not her actual name). As a high school senior, she was set to graduate several months before she and her parents decided to move forward with her DACA application. She had been accepted to several schools and had received a scholarship to attend a small liberal arts college. However, to make good on its offer, the college needed her to provide a valid Social Security number. After she got DACA, Naomi could show her valid work permit and Social Security number to every school she considered attending, and she now is on track to become the first person in her family to graduate from college. DACA has helped so many like Naomi and thousands of others who’ve been able to obtain higher-paying jobs to support their families, return to school, own a business, practice the career they studied and worked so hard for, and accomplish many other goals.

But since Donald Trump became president, affected people’s and advocates’ DACA-related concerns have shifted dramatically. We’ve gone from working to safeguard DACA’s smooth implementation to fighting back efforts to discredit and dismantle the program. Although the president, when he first took office, stepped back from his campaign promise to repeal DACA—instead indicating that he has sympathy for “Dreamers”—the volatility of his administration and threats to the program made by ten conservative state attorneys general demonstrate clearly that we’ve got to continue to vigorously protect DACA. An end to DACA would not only be a devastating loss to those who currently enjoy its benefits, but also to the U.S. economy. The Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates that ending DACA would result in a loss of $460.3 billion from the national GDP over the next decade and would remove an estimated 685,000 workers from the nation’s economy. On the flip side, continuing DACA could increase the estimated yearly contribution of DACA recipients to state and local taxes, to $2.45 billion.

But the main reason to protect DACA is that it would be inhumane to deprive hundreds of thousands of people from the freedom, opportunities, and goals they have had access to because of DACA’s benefits. At a time when nearly 8 in 10 voters, including almost three-quarters of Trump voters, support allowing “Dreamers” to stay in the country, it is important to emphasize that DACA is a policy that has safeguarded immigrant youth and that we still need a permanent solution.

Whether because of political pressure or because their conscience is calling them to do the right thing, several members of Congress have announced bipartisan legislation to protect DACA-eligible people and others who arrived to the U.S. as minors. These new versions of the Dream Act and similar legislation proposing a path for some to regularize their status may seem promising, but while we wait for Congress and the president to come up with a clean, broad legislative solution, it is important we #DefendDACA and its beneficiaries.

DACA taught me so much about the resilience and strength of the community I serve. I’m inspired by the heartfelt words of my former DACA client who said, “We’ve made it this far, and we’ll keep going. We just have to keep fighting.” We definitely must keep fighting—fighting without distractions and without fear. We must defend DACA until we have a real opportunity for permanent change. We must continue to support and stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities and be ready for the challenges to come.

DACA was a win by and for the immigrant community. Let’s remember those lessons of strength as we forge ahead.