ACLU Statement on October 5 DACA Renewal Deadline

WASHINGTON — More than 150,000 current recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program with expiration dates between September 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, faced a deadline today to renew their DACA status.

Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement:

“Today’s renewal deadline is both cruel and arbitrary, just like President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program without having a permanent legislative fix for Dreamers in place.

“While most members of the public have been focused on March 5, 2018, when DACA will begin to expire for some, today’s deadline has been the most pressing for a quarter of all beneficiaries. They’ve had to scramble to adhere to this brand new application deadline determined by the Trump administration without adequate notice. For current DACA recipients unaware of this new date affecting their status or who could not pull together the $495 application fee on short notice, the government’s artificial deadline will have massive consequences for their futures.

“As of earlier this week, more than 40,000 current DACA recipients who were up against this new deadline have not had their renewal application processed by DHS. This means that in a matter of weeks, tens of thousands of these Dreamers could lose their DACA status and be at risk of deportation.

“Watching all of this chaos and cruelty unfold, Congress should redouble its efforts to pass legislative protections for Dreamers, such as the bipartisan Dream Act. Members of Congress must choose a side: either you stand with Dreamers or are complicit in any deportation of Dreamers from the country they call home.”

The government did not provide Dreamers with an official notice of today’s renewal deadline. There is no record of a letter from the government alerting affected DACA recipients of the change in policy and new requirements or deadlines.