Rep. Andrea Salinas Leads 15 Colleagues in a Letter Demanding Answers on DACA Renewal Delays

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led 15 of her colleagues in a letter to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, to request answers about why the Trump Administration is failing to process Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program renewals in a timely manner — putting DACA recipients at risk of deportation. The lawmakers also raised serious concerns about rising renewal fees and questioned how those funds are being used.

Click here or see below for the full letter:

Dear Director Edlow:

We write to express our strong opposition to the Trump Administration detaining and deporting beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As you know, DACA protects recipients from deportation for two years and provides them with work authorization. DACA recipients that continue to meet its requirements are eligible to renew this relief from deportation and their work authorization. However, a recent report indicated that from January 1, 2025, to November 19, 2025, DHS has detained 261 DACA recipients (Dreamers) and deported nearly 90 of them. One specific case involved Mr. Juan Chavez Velasco, who was driving to the hospital to deliver milk to his newborn daughter. Another case involved Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a mother and DACA recipient, who was deported after appearing for a scheduled immigrant visa (or green card) appointment. On March 23, 2026, a federal district court judge ordered the federal government to facilitate her return.

Additionally, the Trump Administration is intentionally processing DACA renewals slowly. This has resulted in Dreamers experiencing high levels of anxiety and uncertainty, and it has resulted in some of them losing their jobs due to a lapse in their status from the delays, which has caused many DACA recipients and their families to face economic challenges. Moreover, a lapse in their DACA status due to the Trump Administration’s slow processing times has also put Dreamers at risk for deportation, which impacts their families, communities, and workplaces. These deportations also significantly impact our country’s economy since during the first decade of the program, DACA recipients contributed $108 billion in wages, plus an additional $33 billion in combined federal, payroll, state, and local taxes.

At the same time, DACA recipients have continued to routinely pay fees for USCIS’ services. Specifically, for Dreamers, they must pay to renew their status every two years and are not eligible for reduced fees or fee waivers. And as of April 1, 2024, the fees increased from $495 to $555 for online applications and $605 for paper applications. This means that within a four-year period, DACA recipients pay over $1,000 in USCIS fees to maintain their status. Given that the Trump Administration is intentionally slowing down the processing of DACA renewals while simultaneously raking in more money from fees, we are deeply concerned about where the money is going from DACA renewal fees and how USCIS is processing DACA renewals. Please respond to the following questions by Monday, April 27, 2026:

1. Please provide the current processing times for DACA renewals. This needs to include the average processing time, median processing time, and the highest and lowest number of days it has taken USCIS to complete a DACA renewal since January 20, 2025.
2. Please describe the USCIS resources that are focused on DACA renewals and if, and how, this has changed from December 2024 to now. This specifically needs to include the number of employees and adjudicatory hours spent per week on processing DACA renewals.
3. Has USCIS proactively moved USCIS adjudicatory personnel off the DACA processing workload since January 20, 2025? If yes, why was this decision made?
4. Since January 20, 2025, how many DACA recipients filed for renewal within USCIS’ stated 120-day guidance widow, but then faced a lapse in their status due to processing delays?
5. Is USCIS working together with ICE, CBP, or TSA to target DACA recipients?
6. What steps is USCIS taking to ensure that DACA renewals filed within the 120-day guidance window are processed so that beneficiaries do not face a lapse in their status?
7. What policy and operational changes has USCIS implemented since January 20, 2025, that impact the adjudications process for DACA renewals and related-work authorization?
8. Since January 20, 2025, how many DACA renewals has USICS processed and approved? How many renewals were denied?
9. How many Requests for Evidence (RFEs) have been issued? Please provide weekly approval, denial, and RFE numbers since January 20, 2025.

We look forward to receiving your responses in a timely manner. Thank you for your time.

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