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DHS Memorandum on DACA: Ethically, Morally, and Legally Wrong

July 28, 2020—Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum effectively re-rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The memo states that DHS will reject initial DACA applications and applications for advance parole, and will only renew DACA for one year increments.

“This decision is ethically, morally, and legally wrong,” said Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM). “Subverting a Supreme Court decision by issuing a memo is like conducting foreign policy via Twitter. DHS grossly underestimates the value Dreamers bring to the United States and the harm and burden caused by this memorandum.

“DACA recipients were already limited to renewals of status for two years of security at a time. This callous and malicious move unnecessarily forces them to pay a $495 renewal fee every single year for a scant 12 months of security. Moreover, it doubles the DACA renewal workload for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when they already have huge backlogs in processing applications, including citizenship applications.”

“We will continue to fight for DACA and to support the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who call this country home.”

Effective immediately, DHS said it will:

  • Continue to adjudicate all pending and future properly submitted DACA renewal requests and associated applications for EADs from current beneficiaries;
  • Reject all initial DACA applications and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs);
  • Decrease DACA renewal periods from two year increments to one year increments (this also limits the period of any associated work authorization to one year);
  • Reject all pending and future Form I-131 applications for advance parole from DACA recipients unless exceptional circumstances apply; and
  • Exercise its discretionary authority to terminate or deny DACA to an individual at any time when immigration officials determine termination or denial of DACA is appropriate.

“We fully expect to see this brought to court,” said Iyer. “There is no way this memo meets the criteria set by the Supreme Court for ending DACA—either for those who have already received it or for initial applicants.”

Current DACA recipients should submit renewal applications and should consult with a qualified immigration attorney before doing so. Dreamers who would be eligible for DACA but for the rescission of the program in 2017 should also consult with a qualified immigration attorney. Please check ILCM’s website for updates: www.ilcm.org.

For a PDF version of this press release, click here.

House Passes the NO BAN Act

July 22, 2020 – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed (233-183) the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (NO BAN) Act. The legislation immediately repeals President Trump’s Muslim and Africa travel bans. It also limits the President’s authority to suspend or restrict non-U.S. citizens from entering the United States in the future. 

On Thursday, July 23, at 11:30 a.m. the Minnesota No Ban Coalition will hold a press conference at the CAIR offices at 2511 E. Franklin Ave #100, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) executive director Veena Iyer, among others, will speak at this press conference. 

“We are one step closer to justice for the thousands of people whose lives the bans disrupted,” said Iyer. “These communities want what everyone wants: freedom to proudly express our identities, including our faith, without fear of discrimination. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) already prohibits the discrimination with respect to visa applications on the basis of ‘race, sex, nationality, place of birth and place of residence.’ The NO BAN Act necessarily expands those protections to religious groups as well.  Travel bans like the Muslim and African bans institutionalize religious and racial profiling and open the door to other policies that discriminate on the basis of faith, race, sexuality, immigration status, and national origin.” 

The NO BAN Act states that any future travel ban must be temporary and based on credible evidence. The President and Department of State would have to prove that a travel ban is necessary to advance a compelling government interest in response to specific threats to the United States from foreign entities. They would also have to show that a ban is the least restrictive way possible to achieve that end. Future travel bans would be subject to congressional oversight.  

“The NO BAN Act will now make its way to the U.S. Senate” said Iyer. “The Senate must pass the NO BAN Act and ensure that people applying for visas are protected from discrimination.” 

For a PDF printable version of this press release click here. 

Card Production Delays at USCIS: July 22, 2020

In June 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reduced its capacity to print secure documents, such as Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Cards and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), after it ended a contract with an outside company responsible for printing these cards. According to USCIS, it intended to hire federal employees to replace the contractors; however, its financial situation resulted in a hiring freeze that has impacted the printing of these secure cards.

USCIS expects these backlogs will continue for the foreseeable future. Should there be a furlough of USCIS employees on August 3, 2020, card production backlogs will likely increase.

Has your application for Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) or a work permit been approved but you have not received your card?

The USCIS Ombudsman is assisting individuals whose I-485 and I-765 applications have been approved but whose cards have not yet been produced, by sending weekly spreadsheets to USCIS to verify card requests are in line to be processed. If you are experiencing a delay in receiving your secure document, you may submit a request for case assistance with the Ombudsman at https://www.dhs.gov/topic/cis-ombudsman/forms/7001.

LPRs may obtain proof of their status by requesting a stamp of temporary evidence in a valid passport. Please reach out to USCIS’ Contact Center (800-375-5283) to make an appointment at your local USCIS field office.

Do you have a work permit that is expiring?

Starting January 17, 2017, USCIS automatically extended certain expiring EADs for up to 180 days for applicants who:

  • Properly filed for a renewal EAD before their current  EAD expired, and
  • Are otherwise eligible for a renewal, which means that:
    • Your EAD renewal is under a category that is eligible for an automatic 180-day extension (see the list of categories below); and
    • The Category on your current EAD matches the “Class Requested” listed on this Notice of Action.  (Note:  If you are a TPS beneficiary or pending applicant, your EAD and this Notice must contain either the A12 or C19 category, but the categories do not need to match each other).

This is in attempt to help prevent gaps in employment authorization and documentation. This extension applies to Form I-765 renewal applications that were still pending on January 17, 2017, and to Form I-765 renewal applications filed on or after January 17, 2017.

The following categories of EADs will be eligible for an automatic extension of up to 180 days:

The eligibility category you listed on your Form I-765 renewal application  Description
(a)(3) Refugee
(a)(5) Asylee
(a)(7) N-8 or N-9
(a)(8) Citizen of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, or Palau
(a)(10) Withholding of Deportation or Removal Granted
(a)(12) Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Granted
(c)(8) Asylum Application Pending
(c)(9) Pending Adjustment of Status under Section 245 of the Act
(c)(10) Suspension of Deportation Applicants (filed before April 1, 1997)
Cancellation of Removal Applicants
Special Rule Cancellation of Removal Applicants Under NACARA
(c)(16) Creation of Record (Adjustment Based on Continuous Residence Since January 1, 1972)
(c)(19) Pending  initial application for TPS where USCIS determines applicant  is  prima facie eligible for TPS and can receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit”.
(c)(20) Section 210 Legalization (pending I-700)
(c)(22) Section 245A Legalization (pending I-687)
(c)(24) LIFE Legalization
(c)(31) VAWA Self-Petitioners

 

NOTE:  TPS individuals may receive an automatic extension of their employment authorization:

  1. Through publication of a Federal Register notice extending the TPS designation of the individual’s country, provided that the Federal Register notice also authorizes an automatic extension of covered individuals’ existing EADs; and/or
  2. Through this 180-day automatic extension.

Executive Order Cannot Rewrite the Constitution: All Must Be Counted in the Census

July 21, 2020—President Trump’s latest executive order attempts to create a class of non-persons within the United States, excluding undocumented immigrants from being counted as part of the population of states. The Supreme Court said the president could not require a citizenship question on the census. This attempted end run around that decision is equally illegal.

The Constitution requires a census and mandates that Congressional representation be apportioned be based on the census count. When the Constitution was written, that count excluded “Indians not taxed” and required that enslaved persons be counted as three-fifths of a person. More than a century ago, the country abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment guaranteed equal protection of all persons.

“Today, the president has ordered the creation of a new class of non-persons,” said Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. “His order excluding undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base is immoral, impossible, and unconstitutional.

“This order is immoral because it expresses the same racist denial of personhood that underlies this administration’s immigration policies. It is impossible because the census—which serves as the basis for Congressional apportionment—has no category and no count for ‘undocumented’ persons, and so no way to exclude them. It is unconstitutional because denying the personhood of anyone in this country flies in the face of the Constitution itself and the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection to all persons in the United States. This order cannot stand.”

PDF version of press release here.