Congressman Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is speaking out about a growing crisis affecting tens of thousands of immigrants in his state. After meeting with local Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and the Arizona immigration advocacy group Aliento AZ, Rep. Stanton says the federal government is failing people who have played by the rules for years.
DACA is a program created under former President Obama that protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
It shields them from deportation and grants them a work permit that must be renewed every two years. That renewal process used to take about 15 days. Now, Stanton says, some people have been waiting more than six months.
"That uncertainty is costing some Dreamers to lose their jobs," Stanton posted on X, "and it is just the latest effort by the Trump administration to undermine their status and put Dreamers at greater risk for deportation."
Uncertainty for Arizonans
The stakes are high, as about 20,000 Arizonans currently hold DACA status, and their ability to legally work in the country depends on those renewals going through on time. When they don't, employers are forced to let workers go, even in cases when they want to keep them.
Last month, Stanton joined nearly 90 fellow Democrats in signing a letter demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The letter asked pointed questions about average processing times, staffing levels, and whether the government is sharing recipients' information with immigration enforcement agencies.
"The legal status of over 20,000 Arizonans is at risk because the government refuses to process paperwork on time," Stanton wrote. "I'll keep fighting to get this fixed and to provide a permanent pathway to citizenship for Dreamers."
For Arizona's roughly 20,000 DACA recipients, the renewal delays have created real uncertainty. With work permits expiring and processing times stretching far longer than usual, many are left waiting to find out whether they can continue living and working in the state as their cases remain unresolved.
