Press Releases

U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) joined U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA-31) and 62 colleagues in a letter to House Republican leadership urging stronger support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients commonly referred to as Dreamers. In the letter, the lawmakers ask Republican leaders not to obstruct legislation that protects Dreamers from work authorization lapses and the threat of deportation, including through a permanent, codified legal status.

“We write in support of all Dreamers who live and contribute to our districts and to our great nation. Healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, students, and many more from our communities are seeking assistance with their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications. Administrative inefficiencies at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have led to unprecedented backlogs and delays in processing DACA renewal applications,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge you to work with us and not obstruct legislation that protects DACA recipients from work authorization lapses and the threat of deportation by directly addressing the severe administrative backlogs at USCIS and through a permanent, codified legal status for Dreamers”. 

The lawmakers outline how DACA renewal applications are facing prolonged processing times, impacting millions of Dreamers and their families. 

“Until this year, most renewals were granted well before the status expired. We now have DACA recipients waiting as long as nine months for their renewal applications to be approved, even after filing 120-150 days before expiration as recommended by USCIS, undergoing background checks, and paying filing fees. These prolonged wait times have caused work authorizations to expire and put DACA recipients, their employers, families, and communities at risk. Nearly 1.7 million Dreamers are trained and employed in critical industries such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. Their wages contribute an estimated $76 billion to our economy each year with an additional $24 billion each year to local, state, and federal taxes. Denying DACA recipients and Dreamers the opportunity to contribute only harms America and our economy,” the lawmakers continued.  

The letter concludes with the lawmakers demanding congressional action to resolve the application backlog. 

“Congress must act, through immediate measures to resolve the renewal backlog at USCIS and through a pathway to citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform. President Trump himself has previously expressed openness to legislation supporting Dreamers, as have several members of your Republican Conference. This sentiment is shared by an overwhelming majority of Americans at over 80%. Unfortunately, our attempts at legislative action are denied and blocked. This is why we write to urge you to allow legislation to come to the floor that supports DACA recipients and Dreamers and ask that you eliminate any legislative obstructions,” concluded the lawmakers.  

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.  

Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Scalise, and Majority Whip Emmer:

We write in support of all Dreamers who live and contribute to our districts and to our great nation. Healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, students, and many more from our communities are seeking assistance with their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications. Administrative inefficiencies at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have led to unprecedented backlogs and delays in processing DACA renewal applications. We urge you to work with us and not obstruct legislation that protects DACA recipients from work authorization lapses and the threat of deportation by directly addressing the severe administrative backlogs at USCIS and through a permanent, codified legal status for Dreamers.

DACA recipients actively follow the rules and contribute to our communities and our economy and should not be penalized by government inefficiency. Until this year, most renewals were granted well before the status expired. We now have DACA recipients waiting as long as nine months for their renewal applications to be approved, even after filing 120-150 days before expiration as recommended by USCIS, undergoing background checks, and paying filing fees.

These prolonged wait times have caused work authorizations to expire and put DACA recipients, their employers, families, and communities at risk. Nearly 1.7 million Dreamers are trained and employed in critical industries such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. Their wages contribute an estimated $76 billion to our economy each year with an additional $24 billion each year to local, state, and federal taxes. Denying DACA recipients and Dreamers the opportunity to contribute only harms America and our economy.

Congress must act, through immediate measures to resolve the renewal backlog at USCIS and through a pathway to citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform. President Trump himself has previously expressed openness to legislation supporting Dreamers, as have several members of your Republican Conference. This sentiment is shared by an overwhelming majority of Americans at over 80%. Unfortunately, our attempts at legislative action are denied and blocked. This is why we write to urge you to allow legislation to come to the floor that supports DACA recipients and Dreamers and ask that you eliminate any legislative obstructions.

No eligible DACA recipient should lose their status, job, or ability to contribute to the country they call home. We hope you work with us to support Dreamers. Thank you for your time.