For Immediate Release: May 8, 2026
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
Washington, DC – Washington, DC — A growing wave of national and local reporting is underscoring the escalating threats facing Dreamers and DACA recipients, including lengthy renewal delays that causing Dreamers to lose work authorization and face increased risks of detention or deportation as their protections lapse.
The renewal and processing delays, on top of the recent misguided Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruling that adds to Dreamers’ fear and confusion, delivers an urgent call for legislative action for Dreamers.
Recent coverage includes:
- A Washington Post opinion piece from Sen. Dick Durbin warning that the Trump administration is waging a “quiet bureaucratic war” on DACA recipients through processing holds, delayed renewals, and new legal actions that undermine longstanding protections for Dreamers.
- Associated Press reporting documenting Dreamers losing work authorization, jobs, driver’s licenses, and stability after renewal delays left them in legal limbo.
- Spectrum News Texas coverage detailing the detention of Texas father Juan Chavez Velasco after his DACA renewal stalled, separating him from his wife and children while his family waits for his case to be resolved.
- NOTUS reporting on DACA recipients across industries — including firefighters, behavioral therapists, and public servants — losing jobs and falling into financial distress because of renewal delays under the Trump administration.
- Chicago Tribune reporting on Dreamers losing jobs, stability, and protection from deportation as delays increase nationwide, including concerns from advocates and experts that the administration is attempting to “slowly dismantle the program” through a “death by a thousand cuts strategy.”
- Chicago Sun-Times reporting on Melanny, a 31-year-old Dreamer preparing to graduate with a master’s degree who said she now fears leaving her home because renewal delays have left her worried about deportation and losing her status. As the Sun-Times reports, the delays make an urgent call for legislative action: “It’s real people who are counting on me to pass this legislation,” [Sen. Dick Durbin] said. “Before I introduced the Dream Act, if you mentioned the Dreamers, people thought it was a 1960s rock ‘n’ roll band. Now, it’s become a definition of justice when it comes to immigration. That young people who are here, through no design of their own, are given a chance to contribute to this country and have a future in the United States.”
According to Gaby Pacheco, President & CEO of TheDream.US:
“What we are seeing right now is the slow unraveling of stability for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who have done everything this country has asked of them. They renewed on time. They built careers, families, businesses, and futures here. Yet because of growing delays and legal uncertainty, many are now losing jobs, falling out of status, and living with the fear that their lives could be upended overnight.
Dreamers are teachers, healthcare workers, graduate students, entrepreneurs, and public servants. They are deeply woven into the fabric of this country. The idea that people who have spent years contributing to their communities could lose everything because of bureaucratic delays and political attacks is both cruel and deeply damaging to America’s future.
These stories make something else painfully clear: temporary protections are not enough. Congress must finally deliver a permanent pathway to citizenship through the Dream Act.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, immigration, and advocacy. We’ve awarded over 12,000 scholarships to immigrant youth from 120+ countries and 45 states, with 4,500 graduates to date. We partner with close to 80 colleges in 19 states and Washington D.C. to provide scholarships, career support, and access to legal options that help Dreamers break through systemic barriers and achieve social mobility.
Through data, Scholar and Alumni stories, strategic partnerships, and targeted state and local advocacy, we work to expand equitable access to college, professional pathways, and permanent legal status. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
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