DACA Recipients Whose Renewal Applications Were Sent By Mail Get to Reapply After 4,000 Rejected As 'Late'
In an about-face, the Trump administration announced that participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program whose paperwork was submitted by mail before—but not received by—the October 5 renewal deadline may reapply.
The decision, made Wednesday night by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, comes after nearly 100 DACA applicants claimed their renewal forms were delayed by the U.S. Postal Service despite having submitted the paperwork well ahead of the deadline. A USPS spokesperson later admitted that an “unintentional temporary mail processing delay” did occur.
Following those claims, which were first reported by the New York Times, immigration lawyers sued the agency, saying that hundreds, if not thousands more DACA renewal applications may have been rejected due to postal SNAFUs. According to lawmakers, however, the current number of DACA applicants confirmed to have been affected by postal delays is 115, the Times reported, but a staggering 4,000 applications were rejected for arriving “late.” It’s not yet known how many of those that arrived after the deadline were sent by mail.