Congressman Panetta Presses Trump Administration to Immediately Accept New DACA Applications

SALINAS, CA – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) and over one hundred of his colleagues in Congress, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), demanded that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) immediately begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

In a letter to Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, Members of Congress demanded USCIS provide clear guidance and immediately begin accepting new DACA applications.

"The United States Supreme Court recently ruled against the administration's attempt to dismantle DACA, preserving protections for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers across the nation, including many right here on the central coast of California" said Congressman Panetta. "My colleagues and I are demanding that USCIS immediately accept new DACA applications and provide clear guidance so that Dreamers can continue their education, employment, or military service. This administration needs to understand, as we do here on the Central Coast, that Dreamers don't just want to stay here, they want to continue to contribute to their communities and our country that all of us call home."

"We should not need to tell you that under our Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court, not the Administration, determines whether the rescission of DACA was lawful," the Members wrote. "USCIS and the Administration must faithfully administer our nation's immigration laws by providing clear guidance implementing the Court's order."

The letter can be found here and below.

Dear Mr. Cuccinelli,

We are writing to urge U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediately begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

On June 18, 2020, in an opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's attempted rescission of DACA was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. This conclusion rests on the well-settled principle of administrative law that "[a]n agency must defend its actions based on the reasons it gave when it acted," a principle that the Department of Homeland Security violated in its haste to deport hundreds of thousands of Dreamers.

We were disturbed to see that the USCIS website includes a statement that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision "has no basis in law." As noted above, the Court correctly held that the Trump administration violated fundamental tenets of administrative law in its eagerness to end DACA. We should not need to tell you that under our Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court, not the Administration, determines whether the rescission of DACA was lawful. USCIS and the Administration must faithfully administer our nation's immigration laws by providing clear guidance implementing the Court's order.

The Supreme Court's decision was also a moral victory for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers across our country, for their families and communities, and for our core values as a nation of immigrants. We were extremely disappointed to see Administration officials ignore their mandate and use USCIS's public platform to make a political attack undermining the rule of law and Dreamers.

We ask that you not only remove the statement, but also provide clear guidance to the public and USCIS employees that you will immediately begin accepting new DACA applications and will resume accepting and adjudicating applications for advance parole for DACA recipients.