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Letter to Kenneth Cuccinelli, Acting Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services - Rep. Maloney Joins Over 100 Members of Congress to Demand USCIS Accept New DACA Applications

Letter

By: Carolyn Maloney, Greg Stanton, Terri Sewell, Barbara Lee, Judy Chu, Raul Ruiz, Alan Lowenthal, Jahana Hayes, Chuy Garcia, Joe Kennedy III, Ilhan Omar, Deb Haaland, Hakeem Jeffries, Anthony Gonzalez, Al Green, Gerry Connolly, Ann Kirkpatrick, Jackie Speier, Adam Schiff, Karen Bass, Juan Vargas, Eleanor Norton, Danny Davis, Katherine Clark, Emanuel Cleaver II, Ben Luján, Jr., Yvette Clarke, Suzanne Bonamici, Veronica Escobar, Pramila Jayapal, Doris Matsui, Salud Carbajal, Jimmy Gomez, Nanette Barragán, Jason Crow, David Scott, Jim McGovern, Rashida Tlaib, Don Payne, Jr., Grace Meng, Eliot Engel, David Cicilline, Lloyd Doggett II, Raul Grijalva, Anna Eshoo, Tony Cárdenas, Linda Sánchez, Scott Peters, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ayanna Pressley, Bennie Thompson, Dina Titus, Jerry Nadler, Earl Blumenauer, Joaquin Castro, Adam Smith, Jared Huffman, T.J. Cox, Ted Lieu, Mark Takano, Joe Neguse, Hank Johnson, Jr., Cedric Richmond, Jamie Raskin, Albio Sires, Gregory Meeks, José Serrano, Madeleine Dean, Filemon Vela, Jr., Ruben Gallego, Zoe Lofgren, Pete Aguilar, Gil Cisneros, Susan Davis, Darren Soto, Jan Schakowsky, Anthony Brown, Alma Adams, Steven Horsford, Adriano Espaillat, Peter DeFazio, Sylvia Garcia, Mark Pocan, Ami Bera, Julia Brownley, Norma Torres, Lou Correa, Rosa DeLauro, Bobby Rush, Lori Trahan, Brenda Lawrence, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nydia Velázquez, Nita Lowey, Jim Langevin, Jennifer Wexton, Jimmy Panetta, Grace Napolitano, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Diana DeGette, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, André Carson, David Trone, Frank Pallone, Jr., Kathleen Rice, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dwight Evans, Marc Veasey, Gwen Moore
Date: July 1, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Immigration

Dear Mr. Cuccinelli,

We are writing to urge U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediately begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

On June 18, 2020, in an opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's attempted rescission of DACA was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. This conclusion rests on the well-settled principle of administrative law that "[a]n agency must defend its actions based on the reasons it gave when it acted," a principle that the Department of Homeland Security violated in its haste to deport hundreds of thousands of Dreamers.[1]

We were disturbed to see that the USCIS website includes a statement that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision "has no basis in law."[2] As noted above, the Court correctly held that the Trump administration violated fundamental tenets of administrative law in its eagerness to end DACA. We should not need to tell you that under our Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court, not the Administration, determines whether the rescission of DACA was lawful.[3] USCIS and the Administration must faithfully administer our nation's immigration laws by providing clear guidance implementing the Court's order.

The Supreme Court's decision was also a moral victory for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers across our country, for their families and communities, and for our core values as a nation of immigrants. We were extremely disappointed to see Administration officials ignore their mandate and use USCIS's public platform to make a political attack undermining the rule of law and Dreamers.

We ask that you not only remove the statement, but also provide clear guidance to the public and USCIS employees that you will immediately begin accepting new DACA applications and will resume accepting and adjudicating applications for advance parole for DACA recipients.


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