Three months after mail delays disrupted the lives of young immigrants whose applications to renew temporary work permits were wrongly rejected for being late, the totals are in: more than 1,900 people were affected, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency said.
As Congress debates the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which is set to expire on March 5, the rejected applicants have been scrambling to overcome the government’s error. Many have already lost their work permits, causing a cascade of consequences.
Mauricio Noroña, a lawyer for the Immigrant Community Law Center in Manhattan called the 1,900 figure, “astounding.” He saw the devastating effects the mail delays had on one of his clients, whom he declined to name, saying she was afraid of repercussions from the government.
“She lost her job, lost her apartment, and is now temporarily staying with family in her home state,” Mr. Noroña said. “More worrisome, our client is at risk of being placed in removal proceedings pending her DACA renewal, a process that may take months because U.S.C.I.S. didn’t commit to expedite affected cases.”
