Rosen Joins Colleagues in Pushing Back on Trump Admin Action Weakening Legal Protections for DACA Recipients

WASHINGTON, DC - On the 14th Anniversary of DACA, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) is announcing she has joined Senate colleagues in pushing back on a recent action by the Trump Administration that will weaken legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. In a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the senators push back on the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) recent decision on DACA recipients, highlighting inconsistencies between BIA's ruling and the forbearance protections provided by DACA and upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We are troubled to see the Board, and by extension, the Department of Justice, attempt to circumvent legal protections for DACA recipients, which have been codified in regulation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and affirmed in a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We urge you to take steps within your authority as Attorney General to ensure the Board's rulings regarding DACA are interpreted in a manner consistent with current law," the lawmakers wrote.

"DACA is well established as 'a form of enforcement discretion not to pursue […] removal.' As the Board noted in its decision, a DACA recipient 'cannot be removed from the United States while she has DACA protection.' DHS established DACA in 2012 by memorandum, and codified it in regulation in 2022. […] By regulation, immigration judges may, in the exercise of discretion, terminate removal proceedings for individuals who have received grants of deferred action," they continued.

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.

Senator Rosen has fought to protect immigrant communities in Nevada. Last year, she helped lead legislation to protect DACA applicants' and recipients' data from abuse by the Trump Administration. Senator Rosen also helped introduce a bill to protect immigrants' rights to a lawyer and family contact. In April, Senator Rosen forced a bipartisan Senate vote on her legislation to reverse Trump regulation ending automatic extension of work permits.

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