Durbin, Cortez Masto Lead 39 Senate Colleagues In Demanding DHS Reduce Delays For DACA Renewals

Durbin, Cortez Masto Lead 39 Senate Colleagues In Demanding DHS Reduce Delays For DACA Renewals

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) led 39 of their Senate Democratic Caucus colleagues in a letter to outgoing U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow demanding DHS reduce the delays in processing renewal applications under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA recipients across the country are experiencing increasing delays in renewing their status. Created in 2012, DACA protects individuals who came to the United States as children from deportation.

"DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers an opportunity to pursue higher education and meaningful careers while remaining in the only home they have ever known," wrote the Senators. "Delays in processing DACA renewals are increasing the instability and uncertainty that DACA recipients already face. These delays can have profound consequences. When renewals are not processed before expiration, recipients lose employment authorization and, in many cases, their jobs. Employers experience workforce disruptions, including in sectors such as health care and education and in small businesses. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children have a parent with DACA, and when their work authorization lapses due to slow renewals, families endure heightened financial instability."

In their letter, the Senators also called attention to the increased risk of detention and deportation faced by DACA recipients when their renewal applications are not processed before their status expires. According to DHS, as many as 270 DACA recipients have been detained and 174 have been deported.

"DACA recipients contribute billions of dollars annually to the national economy and serve vital roles in our communities. Administrative delays in DACA renewals undermine not only individual stability but also broader economic resilience," concluded the Senators. "To reduce these disruptions and risks for DACA recipients, we urge you to reduce processing times for DACA renewal applications and reduce the volume of pending cases through timely renewals."

Along with Durbin and Cortez Masto, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brain Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), President Trump's nominee to replace Secretary Noem, also received a copy of this letter.

Full text of the letter is available here.

Last month, Durbin called out DHS for wrongfully targeting and removing DACA recipients. According to DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 261 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and 86 have been removed from the country between January 1, 2025, and November 19, 2025.

Beginning in 2001, Durbin introduced the Dream Act to give young immigrants the chance to earn U.S. citizenship. He has introduced the legislation every Congress since. Over the years, Durbin has told the stories of 150 Dreamers on the Senate Floor. In 2012, Durbin worked with then-President Obama to establish the DACA program to allow these young people to gain temporary status. The most current available government data shows that the number of DACA holders has fallen from roughly 530,000 in September 2024 to roughly 515,000 in June 2025.

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