The mounting delays from USCIS are causing a number of Dreamers to lose their legal status under DACA as they wait for renewal, rendering them ineligible to work and vulnerable to deportation. In the past, renewal of work authorizations for Dreamers took about two months, but the number of DACA recipients waiting more than six months has increased significantly.

A former USCIS official familiar with dynamics within the agency, granted anonymity for fear of reprisal, cautioned that USCIS writ large has been slow to process all kinds of immigration applications and that DACA delays fit into a broader trend.

But DACA has usually been separated from other programs that forestall removal proceedings against unauthorized immigrants, such as those with pending asylum claims, given the unique nature of the population it serves.

USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler insisted the agency “is safeguarding the American people by more thoroughly screening and vetting all aliens.” Kahler added: “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Illegal aliens claiming to be recipients of DACA are not automatically protected from deportation.”

For example, Kahler noted, DACA recipients can still be deported for criminal activity. DHS announced Thursday that Abraham Alvarez, one of the alleged ringleaders of a plot against last week’s UFC match on the White House grounds, is a DACA recipient. ICE is moving to deport Alvarez once he faces criminal adjudication, the department said.

Despite his administration’s past efforts to nix the executive order governing DACA, Trump himself has expressed openness to the inclusion of a legal pathway to citizenship for Dreamers in immigration legislation. That position is backed by a sizable majority of Americans. 2025 polling data from Gallup found that 85 percent of Americans support creating a legal pathway for Dreamers to become U.S. citizens.

Salazar said that Congress needs to act to pass the DIGNITY Act, a bipartisan immigration reform package she’s championed that would create a permanent solution to Dreamers’ legal status. But efforts on Capitol Hill to codify protections for Dreamers face uphill odds in the Republican-controlled House and Senate, despite bipartisan backing for such legislation in the past. Republican sponsors of legislation to extend protections for Dreamers say they’re hopeful, but acknowledge the issue has been deprioritized.

“This has not become a priority to get floor time,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), one of a handful of GOP sponsors of a September 2025 bill supporting Dreamers. Cramer insisted he still supports legislation to help Dreamers.

Asked about the delays in the legislation, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), another of the Senate Republican co-sponsors of the September 2025 bill, added: “It’s super frustrating. … Hopefully the timing will be right and we’ll get it done.”

The American Business Immigration Coalition — which advocates for sensible immigration policies in the service of American companies — organized a letter released on Monday, the 14th anniversary of the program’s creation, where more than 100 organizations called on the administration to address the renewal delays and reiterated support for legislation helping Dreamers.

“The uncertainty surrounding DACA has become an operational nightmare — these bureaucratic delays are forcing employers to terminate valued, long-term employees who have lived in the U.S. for an average of 26 years,” the letter said. “This is cruel, unnecessary, and destructive to our economy, our communities, and to American jobs.