After Meng Sends Letter, USCIS Reverses Decision and Allows DACA Renewal Applications Abnormally Delayed by U.S. Postal Service to be Resubmitted

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A day after U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Elaine Duke urging DHS to accept Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications that were delayed by the United States Postal Service (USPS), DHS announced it would allow such applications to be resubmitted.

"I am gratified that the Department of Homeland Security has reversed course and decided to allow DACA renewal applications that were abnormally delayed by the United States Postal Service after I called on them to do so," said Meng. "These DACA recipients mailed their renewal applications well in advance of the deadline, and the Postal Service has admitted fault in the delays of receipt. It is clear that the DACA recipients, who were doing everything right, should not be punished for circumstances outside of their control, and I am glad that DHS came to realize that as well."

On November 10, the New York Timesreported that at least 74 DACA recipients from the New York region and Chicago had mailed their DACA renewal applications well in advance of the October 5 deadline, but their applications were rejected due to a USPS processing error that resulted in abnormal delays in delivery. USPS made the unprecedented move of publicly taking responsibility for the abnormal delays, citing an "unintentional temporary mail processing delay in the Chicago area," where one of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) intake locations is located.

Despite these abnormal circumstances, USCIS announced that it would not accept the delayed applications.

Meng's letter, sent to DHS Secretary Duke on Tuesday, November 14, called on DHS, the federal agency that oversees USCIS, to reverse its decision and to accept DACA renewal applications postmarked on or before October 5, 2017 to account for the applications that were delayed by USPS. On Wednesday, November 15, DHS Secretary Duke told USCIS to allow applications delayed by USPS processing to be resubmitted.

The text of Meng's letter is below, and a copy of the correspondence can be found here.

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November 14, 2017

The Honorable Elaine C. Duke

Secretary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Duke:

It has come to my attention that at least 34 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients mailed their DACA renewal applications well in advance of the October 5, 2017 deadline, but their applications were rejected due to an error in United States Postal Service (USPS) processing that resulted in abnormal delays in delivery. I strongly urge you to accept these applications as valid if the application was postmarked on or by October 5, 2017.

As noted in the New York Times article, "Post Office Fails to Deliver on Time, and DACA Applications Get Rejected," the USPS has made the unprecedented move of publicly claiming responsibility for these delays in processing. Some of the DACA renewal applications were mailed weeks in advance of the deadline, with tracking information to support their claims of USPS delays.

I strongly urge you to accept DACA renewal applications postmarked on or before October 5, 2017. These DACA recipients have made every attempt to follow the law and the instructions set forth by the Department of Homeland Security. Their applications should not be categorially rejected due to circumstances beyond their control.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Grace Meng

Member of Congress

CC: The Honorable L. Francis Cissna, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services