Latinos United for Immigration Reform

July 24, 2015 LATINO LEADERS: PUNISHING YOUNG WORKERS FOR GOVERNMENT ERROR IS DRACONIAN AND IRRATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
July 24, 2015
 
LATINO LEADERS: PUNISHING YOUNG WORKERS FOR GOVERNMENT ERROR IS DRACONIAN AND IRRATIONAL
To protect their ability to work, DACA recipients should still comply with USCIS instructions to trade in their employment permits
 
Washington, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, is calling on the Obama Administration to rescind USCIS’ threat to take away work permits and deferred action status from recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) if they do not comply with calls to immediately return their work authorization documents issued due to an egregious error made by the government, but also calling on affected DACA recipients to comply promptly with instructions they have received from USCIS in order to avoid jeopardizing their DACA status and ability to work legally.
 
Earlier this year, USCIS erroneously issued three-year work authorization cards to an estimated 2,600 DACA recipients when they should have been issued two-year cards.  USCIS recently notified a number of DACA recipients that they had less than two weeks to send back their now-invalid three-year cards or else lose their DACA status and the right to work at all.  Alternatives to this harsh penalty – for an error made by the government, not DACA recipients – could include changing the penalty to be less severe or notifying employers that three-year work cards are invalid and should be treated as two-year cards.
 
"Punishing DREAMers for a bureaucratic error made by the government is farcical at best, cruel at worst.  The government’s sloppiness in handling this matter has the potential to affect the livelihoods of many individuals who depend on their work permits to support themselves and their families," said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. "The government needs to fix this problem in a fair way.  In the meantime, DACA recipients impacted by this situation should make every effort to comply with the notices they have received from USCIS in order to ensure their work eligibility is not jeopardized."   
"Acute embarrassment over an egregious error, even one called out by a federal judge in litigation, is no excuse for draconian and arbitrary government conduct," stated Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and President and General Counsel of MALDEF. "USCIS can and should approach this problem in a more rational way than setting unreasonable deadlines with severe consequences for failing to meet those deadlines."
"Government must be guided by universal values of fairness and justice if it is to carry out its principal function of serving the people," stated Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation. "Clearly, it has failed to do so in this case, which is made all the more egregious by the fact that it is punishing a very young and vulnerable population.  While we encourage those DREAMers affected to comply with the request, our government needs to resolve this situation in a way that’s just and does not harm the very same people the original law was designed to protect."
 
The full text of NHLA's letter to the Department of Homeland Security follows below:
 
July 24, 2015
 
The Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
 
Re: Retractions of Three-Year Employment Authorization Documents for Some DACA Recipients
 
Dear Secretary Johnson:
 
We write on behalf of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 leading national Latino nonpartisan civil rights and advocacy organizations, to strongly urge you to reconsider the proposed steps taken by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in connection with the retrieval of 2,600 Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for those Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients whose three-year EADs were mailed after the court-ordered injunction issued in Texas v. U.S., on February 16, 2015.  While we understand the Administration finds itself in a sensitive position due to the need to comply with the court-ordered injunction, we have serious concerns about the drastic repercussions DACA recipients will face for failure to return their EADs by the aggressive timeline set out by USCIS.  
 
Earlier this year, UCSIS sought to retract approximately 2,100 three–year EADs issued to individuals in error, as they were mailed after the February 16 injunction.  In addition, we understand that the Administration later identified approximately 500 additional DACA recipients who were mailed a three-year EAD prior to the February 16 injunction, but it was returned as undeliverable, and subsequently re-mailed after the injunction.  In the past week, USCIS began implementing an aggressive operation to retrieve those EADs that have yet to be returned.  These measures have included follow-up letters, phone calls, home visits to affected DACA recipients, and the issuance of Notifications of Intent to Terminate (NOIT).  Those who received NOITs were notified in mid-July, and have been instructed to return their EAD to a field office—or during a home visit if one is conducted—before July 30, 2015 to avoid termination of their DACA status, EAD, and to ensure that they do not face or receive negative penalties in a subsequent petition for relief.  
 
Given when the NOITs were issued, an expectation for individuals to comply with less than two weeks’ notice is frankly unacceptable and is likely to result in individuals failing to return their EAD by the July 30 deadline.  Furthermore, the threat to terminate DACA status for affected individuals who do not return their three-year EAD unfairly penalizes DACA holders for the Administration’s error.  While we agree that comprehensive messaging and community outreach is necessary to reach all those individuals who must return their three-year EAD, any contemplated action against DACA holders must be balanced against the severe repercussions they might have on employment, status, and eligibility for future immigration benefits or relief.  This is particularly true in this instance, where the error lies with the Administration alone. 
 
Unfortunately, USCIS is planning to take drastic measures against this discreet group of DACA holders while a number of DACA renewal requestors are still being processed in an untimely manner, resulting in delayed issuances of EADs.  As a result, DACA recipients who filed their renewal request in a timely manner face unemployment and lapses in status.  NHLA urges your agency to rectify this problem with the same voracity shown to address the retraction of those EADs issued in error.    
 
We appreciate your attention to our concerns.  Please contact NHLA through Andrea Senteno, of MALDEF, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 202-572-0467, with any questions regarding this letter.  Thank you for your time and consideration.
 
Sincerely,
 
Thomas A. Saenz 
MALDEF, President and General Counsel
NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair
 
Jose Calderón
Hispanic Federation, President
NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair
 
CC:
 
Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Leon Rodriguez, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Julie Rodriguez, Deputy Director of White House Office of Public Engagement
Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy
 
###
 
Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
 
| Teresa Acuña | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |
| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 587-4945 |
 
American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Avance | Casa de Esperanza | Cuban American National Council | Farmworker Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Inter-University Program for Latino Research | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | Presente.org | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.-Mexico Foundation

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