What you need to know about Trump’s 9/5/17 DACA decision

Frequently Asked Questions: Rescission Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Release by: Department of Homeland Security

Release Date:

September 5, 2017

The following are frequently asked questions on the September 5, 2017 Rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program.

Q1: Why is DHS phasing out the DACA program?

A1: Taking into consideration the federal court rulings in ongoing litigation, and the September 4, 2017 letter from the Attorney General, it is clear that program should be terminated. As such, the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security rescinded the June 15, 2012 memorandum establishing the DACA program. Please see the Attorney General’s letter and the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security’s memorandum for further information on how this decision was reached.

Q2: What is going to happen to current DACA holders?

A2: Current DACA recipients will be permitted to retain both the period of deferred action and their employment authorization documents (EADs) until they expire, unless terminated or revoked. DACA benefits are generally valid for two years from the date of issuance.

Q3: What happens to individuals who currently have an initial DACA request pending?

A3: Due to the anticipated costs and administrative burdens associated with rejecting all pending initial requests, USCIS will adjudicate—on an individual, case-by-case basis—all properly filed DACA initial requests and associated applications for EADs that have been accepted as of September 5, 2017.

Q4: What happens to individuals who currently have a request for renewal of DACA pending?

A4: Due to the anticipated costs and administrative burdens associated with rejecting all pending renewal requests, USCIS adjudicate—on an individual, case-by-case basis—properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents from current beneficiaries that have been accepted as of September 5, 2017, and from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018 that have been accepted as of October 5, 2017. USCIS will reject all requests to renew DACA and associated applications for EADs filed after October 5, 2017.

Q5: Is there still time for current DACA recipients to file a request to renew their DACA?

A5: USCIS will only accept renewal requests and associated applications for EADs for the class of individuals described above in the time period described above.

Q6: What happens when an individual’s DACA benefits expire over the course of the next two years? Will individuals with expired DACA be considered illegally present in the country?

A6: Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred. When their period of deferred action expires or is terminated, their removal will no longer be deferred and they will no longer be eligible for lawful employment.

Only Congress has the authority to amend the existing immigration laws.

Q7: Once an individual’s DACA expires, will their case be referred to ICE for enforcement purposes?

A7: Information provided to USCIS in DACA requests will not be proactively provided to ICE and CBP for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings, unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear or a referral to ICE under the criteria set forth in USCIS’ Notice to Appear guidance (www.uscis.gov/NTA). This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter.

Q8: Will USCIS share the personal information of individuals whose pending requests are denied proactively with ICE for enforcement purposes?

A8: Generally, information provided in DACA requests will not be proactively provided to other law enforcement entities (including ICE and CBP) for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings unless the requestor poses a risk to national security or public safety, or meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear or a referral to ICE under the criteria. This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter.

Q9: Can deferred action received pursuant to DACA be terminated before it expires?

A9: Yes. DACA is an exercise of deferred action which is a form of prosecutorial discretion. Hence, DHS will continue to exercise its discretionary authority to terminate or deny deferred action at any time when immigration officials determine termination or denial of deferred action is appropriate.

Q10: Can DACA recipients whose valid EAD is lost, stolen or destroyed request a new EAD during the phase out?

A10: If an individual’s still-valid EAD is lost, stolen, or destroyed, they may request a replacement EAD by filing a new Form I-765.

Q11: Will DACA recipients still be able to travel outside of the United States while their DACA is valid?

A11: Effective September 5, 2017, USCIS will no longer approve any new Form I-131 applications for advance parole under standards associated with the DACA program. Those with a current advance parole validity period from a previously-approved advance parole application will generally retain the benefit until it expires. However, CBP will retain the authority it has always exercised in determining the admissibility of any person presenting at the border. Further, USCIS retains the authority to revoke or terminate an advance parole document at any time.

Q12: What happens to individuals who have pending requests for advance parole to travel outside of the United States?

A12: USCIS will administratively close all pending Form I-131 applications for advance parole under standards associated with the DACA program, and will refund all associated fees.

Q13: How many DACA requests are currently pending that will be impacted by this change? Do you have a breakdown of these numbers by state?

A13: There were 106,341 requests pending as of August 20, 2017 – 34,487 initial requests and 71,854 renewals. We do not currently have the state-specific breakouts.

Q14: Is there a grace period for DACA recipients with EADs that will soon expire to make appropriate plans to leave the country?

A14: As noted above, once an individual’s DACA and EAD expire—unless in the limited class of beneficiaries above who are found eligible to renew their benefits—the individual is no longer considered lawfully present in the United States and is not authorized to work. Persons whose DACA permits will expire between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018 are eligible to renew their permits. No person should lose benefits under this memorandum prior to March 5, 2018 if they properly file a renewal request and associated application for employment authorization.

Q15: Can you provide a breakdown of how many DACA EADs expire in 2017, 2018, and 2019?

A15: From August through December 2017, 201,678 individuals are set to have their DACA/EADs expire. Of these individuals, 55,258 already have submitted requests for renewal of DACA to USCIS.

In calendar year 2018, 275,344 individuals are set to have their DACA/EADs expire. Of these 275,344 individuals, 7,271 have submitted requests for renewal to USCIS.

From January through August 2019, 321,920 individuals are set to have their DACA/EADs expire. Of these 321,920 individuals, eight have submitted requests for renewal of DACA to USCIS.

Q16: What were the previous guidelines for USCIS to grant DACA?

A16: Individuals meeting the following categorical criteria could apply for DACA if they:

Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
Came to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday;
Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making their request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
Are currently in school, have graduated, or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

July 28, 2017

Farmworkers Facing Disastrous Immigration Legislation

From our friends at Farmworker Justice

The threats to farmworkers and their families intensified this week. We ask your support to help farmworkers fight for a fair immigration system.

Yesterday, the House immigration subcommittee held a hearing on agricultural guestworker programs. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, said he will introduce a bill to repeal and replace the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program. His bill’s guestworker program would eliminate major labor protections on wages, housing and government oversight. He opposes a path to immigration status and citizenship for undocumented farmworkers.

The day before, in a sneak attack, the House Appropriations Committee inserted into a spending bill a provision that would undermine farmworkers’ wages and conditions. It would allow employers with year-round jobs to hire H-2A guestworkers. Dairies and other farms with year-round jobs should compete for workers with good job terms.

Undocumented dairy and other agricultural workers should be granted an opportunity for immigration status and citizenship.

Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said that he will propose a guestworker program. And there already are several anti-immigrant, anti-worker bills pending in Congress to change the H-2A program.

Help us stop these anti-worker, anti-immigrant proposals. We must struggle for fair immigration policies and a path to immigration status and citizenship for undocumented farmworkers and their families. The Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 would do that.

We ask for your support for our vital work at this momentous time.

Bruce

P.S. Descriptions of legislative proposals on farmworker immigration are available on our website.

July 20, 2017

You should put November 2nd on your calendar…

July Photos for Thought- Put November 2nd on your calendar

On November 2nd, 2017, 6pm @ SEIU (6401 SE Foster Rd, Portland, OR) PCUN will hold it’s Annual Celebration: 40 Years of Movement Building. It will be fun!

Than you to everyone who worked to pass Cover All Kids this past session. Read about PCUN’s 2017 legislative priorities and victories here!

Congratulations to our newest immigration “Licenciad@s” (DOJ Accredited Reps) that can now practice immigration law through our Farmworker Service Center! Laura Galindo, Ines L Peña, y Mario Palafox

Adelante!
PCUN

July 20, 2017

PCUN’s 2017 Legislative Priorities & Victories

Here is a summary of PCUN’s 2017 Legislative Priorities & Victories

SB 558-Cover all Kids: SB 558 ensures all Oregon children have the same access to health care, regardless of residency status. Oregon will become the 7^th state in the country to provide health care for all children. The Cover All Kids legislation will: (1) Extend health care coverage through the Oregon Health Plan for all children in Oregon up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, (2) Ensure that culturally and linguistically appropriate community-based outreach is conducted to maximize enrollment.

HB 3464 Privacy Law: Protects the privacy of immigrant families by prohibiting the exchange of certain confidential information for the use of migration. HB 3464 will also provide much-needed direction and procedures by the attorney-General of Oregon for schools, health clinics and other public entities and services on how to handle the federal government’s requests for information.

SB 828-Fair Work week: The first Fair Scheduling Law in the country. Part of the Fair Work Week Coalition.The bill will apply to retail, hotel, and food service establishments that have 500 or more employees worldwide. It will require the employers to give employees two weeks’ notice of their work schedules, to pay for last-minute employer-requested schedule changes, and to separate shifts by at least 10 hours. The bill pre-empts local governments from passing their own scheduling requirements. It will take effect July 1, 2018, with its penalty provisions taking effect Jan. 1, 2019.

HB 2355- End Racial Profiling Bill: Will require law enforcement departments to begin collecting and retaining standardized demographic data on all officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops. The bill also requires mandatory training in cultural competency and implicit bias for all state and local law enforcement officers in Oregon and establishes a statewide system to hold law enforcement departments accountable for profiling practices.

HB 3391-The Reproductive Healthy Equity Act– Removes financial barriers and ensures that every Oregonian is empowered to make their own decisions about whether and when to become a parent. The legislation will: (1) Require all commercial plans to cover the entire cost of the full range of reproductive health services – including family planning, vasectomy and abortion – without deductible or co-pay by the patient, (2) Establish coverage for reproductive health care, especially postpartum care for new mothers for Oregonians who are categorically excluded from health programs due to citizenship status, (3) Assure access without government interference to the full range of reproductive healthcare, including abortion, (4) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in reproductive health coverage.

HB 2845–Develops Ethnic Studies standards- Directs the Department of Education to convene a group of 14 individuals—each with different backgrounds including—who will advise the state on where “it fails to recognize the histories, contributions, and perspectives of ethnic minorities and social minorities. Directs Department of Education to add and adopt “Ethnic Studies” standards to current social studies standards for Oregon public K-12 schools by 2020. Requires the Department of Education to “publish annual reports on the progress of the implementation of the ethnic studies standards.

HB 2864-Cultural Competency: Requires each community college and public university to establish process for recommending, and providing oversight for implementation of, cultural competency standards for institution and institution’s employees

HB 3279: Creates a new category of labor contractor for licensing by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and requires additional training for managers, supervisors and employees. As a result, groups such as Janitorial subcontractors will receive additional protections from wage theft and sexual assault.

June 16, 2017

First time this happens in Oregon…

June Photos for Thought- First time this happens..

APP leads the way in electing Oregon’s first Latino majority school board–Read about it here! This is how we resist!

FHDC housing community–Colonia Jardines. Colonia Jardines was opened on May 17th. It’s the first farmworker housing project in Silverton Oregon. Congratulations FHDC!

PCUN and LUS join rally at NORCOR detention facility in the Dalles, Oregon in support of immigration detainees who are on a hunger strike to protest poor living conditions.

Adelante!
PCUN

June 15, 2017

APP leads way to electing Oregon’s first Latino majority school board

APP team who led the campaigns of Anthony Medina (Woodburn-2nd right) & Levi Herrera-Lopez (Salem-1st right)

By electing Laura Isiordia, Gustavo Gutierrez, and Anthony Medina in Woodburn, we now have the first elected Latino majority school board in Oregon!!! These pioneers have broken down barriers for future generations of students. Anthony, who had the only contested race out of the three, is just 25 years old. Anthony was the first in his family to graduate from college, earned a Master’s in Education Policy from Stanford University and works as a budget analyst for the State of Oregon. Talk about being young AND qualified to lead in our local school board.

In the Salem-Keizer Area, we campaigned hard to elect Levi Herrera, who since age 15, has been invested in the Salem-Keizer community and currently serves as the director of Mano a Mano Family Center, whose mission is to help families and youth become self-sufficient and empowered. Professionally, he works with community. Levi went to McNary High School and has ample personal experience overcoming barriers that as people of color, we often face in the education system. Levi is also part of the Salem-Keizer School district budget, Marion County Children and Families Commission, Salem Youth Advisory Commission, Marion County Public Safety Coordinating council, among many others.

If elected, Levi would have been the FIRST LATINO ever to sit on the Salem-Keizer school board. A unique perspective much needed, given that 50% of Salem-Keizer students are students of color. However, as qualified as Levi is, it is clear that the community in Salem-Keizer was not ready for a Latino candidate.

Levi will continue to advocate for our most vulnerable communities as he has always done and Acción Política PCUNista will continue working to elect people who represent the communities they serve. Just look at our team. These campaigns are led by YOUNG people–college students and high school students–who truly care about their communities and the positive impact this has on our state. Together, we knocked close to 8,000 doors in Salem-Keizer and Woodburn. We heard powerful stories from community and helped people vote for the first time.

We didn’t lose, we won! These young people are our present and our future and we will continue to make our voices heard. They’ve broken through the chains of poverty and are now breaking through the chains of our political system.

Thank you for supporting our efforts!

Adelante,

Jaime Arredondo

APP Executive Director

http://www.accionpoliticapcunista.org/

May 4, 2017August 15, 2018

Watch out!

May Photos for Thought- WATCH OUT!

While thousands march on May 1st in support of immigrants, anti-immigrant group, OFIR, launched its efforts to stop Oregon’s 30 year-old Sanctuary law protecting immigrant families. Watch out!

ICE ankle bracelet on one of the 16 farmworkers detained in Woodburn on February 24th on their way to work . Read about what happened and how you can help us build our community’s capacity to respond to ICE.

Latino candidates from Woodburn and Salem with Governor Barbara Roberts @ Accion Politica PCUNista’s (APP) School Board Campaign Launch. Learn about the candidates here. Join us on May 16th at 6pm @ PCUN for our election watch party.

Adelante!
PCUN

May 4, 2017

Anti-immigrant group attempting to stop Oregon Sanctuary law

WATCH OUT!

On March 25th, 2017, three extreme right-wing legislators filed a potential 2018 ballot measure in an effort to repeal Oregon’s 30 year-old sanctuary law that restricts local resources from being used for federal immigration enforcement.

The effort is beind led by anti-immigrant group Oregonians for Immigration Reform who was begun collecting signatures to place an anti-sanctuary ballot initiative on the November 2018 ballot. Initiative 22, filed by Oregon State Reps. Mike Nearman, Sal Esquivel, and Greg Bareto on April 25, seeks to repeal Oregon Revised Statute 181A.850. Esquivel and Nearman filed a similar initiative last year, but withdrew it last month.

To support the signature gathering effort, OFIR activists established the Repeal Oregon Sanctuary Law Committee on April 28, according to records from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.

OFIR has been trying to repeal Oregon Revised Statute 181A.850 for 15 years. Here is what OFIR co-founder Elizabeth Van Staaveren had to say about their efforts: http://www.oregonir.org/alerts/ofir-launches-stop-oregon-sanctuaries-ballot-measure-drive

April 7, 2017

Donate to PCUN’s ICE Raid Resistance Efforts

Support PCUN’s ICE Raid Resistance Efforts: Donate to help here

Dear ally,

We need your help to build our community’s capacity to respond to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

As you know, President Trump’s interior immigration executive order is slowly tearing apart families and communities across our nation. We’ve experienced this first-hand in our hometown, Woodburn Oregon.

In the early morning of February 24th, 16 farm workers were stopped by ICE on their way to work. The agents claimed they were looking for a person. When the worker answered they didn’t know that person, the agents started asking them about their immigration status. They refuse to talk. Despite their efforts to express their constitutional rights, they were still taken. Woodburn and our neighboring communities have not been the same after.

Farmworkers are thinking twice about going work. Parents are preparing their older children to parent in case they are taken. Some no longer want to seek medical assistance. Dozens of permanent residents are coming to our service center to apply for citizenship. Grades are down for students. Business is down. The fear is not about meeting basic needs. As immigrants, we know what is like to start from scratch. It’s about family and the threat of separation.

So what are we doing about it?

Following the raid we began organizing a series of Know You’re Rights trainings, which eventually led to the creation of the Mid-Willamette Valley ICE Rapid Response Network. To date, we have trained over 300 people, 26 of which are now trainers themselves. Our allies at the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition have set-up a 1-888 number our network can call into to report ICE activity. We are learning to use the Deportation Defense App created by Unite We Dream. And, we’ve organized legal defense trainings to dissect some of the incidents that have taken place through the personal testimony of those affected. This will allow to use real-life experiences to better prepare for future incidents.

Our goals—train over 5,000 more people, and through the collection of testimonies from those affected build a legal case against’ the President’s Interior Executive Order demonstrating ICE violations of immigrants’ constitutional rights.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 from this appeal to begin to scale up our current efforts. The path won’t be easy, but we can get there with your help. Thank you.

Ramon Ramirez-President of PCUN

March 1, 2017August 15, 2018

APP School Board Campaign Launch with special guest Gov. Barbara Roberts: 3/31

You were with us when we passed the Woodburn’s School Bond Measure and when we elected the first Latina immigrant to Oregon’s State Legislature.

Now we ask you to join us in our next journey—launch our campaign to elect the first Latino to the Salem-Keizer School Board and two more to the Woodburn School Board.

Governor Barbara Roberts will be our special guest for the event. Governor Roberts has been a longstanding ally. She began her political career as a school board member. She is also considered the madrina (Godmother) of Nuevo Amanecer, the first low-income farmworker housing tax- credit project in the nation—located in Woodburn, Oregon.

Who knew that twenty-seven years later we would have three Latinx with a farmworker background running for public office.

Appetizers and beverages will be provided. $15 entrance fee.

About Accion Politica PCUNIsta (APP): APP’s is Oregon’s progressive Latino 501 c4 non-profit organization. APP’s mission is develop real Latinx political power that helps influence and decide elections and policies, in order to create a more just society for all.