––> Read full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/81acc58d87f1/cmsc-calls-for-expedited-approval-of-30-dreamers-humanitarian-advance-parole-applications
The CMSC sends letter to President Trump regarding DACA's Advance Parole
President Donald Trump
DHS Secretary and USCIS Director
October 23, 2019
Re: National Campaign to Restore DACA’s Advance Parole and request to expedite approval of Humanitarian Advance Parole applications (I-131 Form) filed through the CMSC.
Dear President Trump, DHS Secretary, and USCIS Director,
My name is Prof. Armando Vazquez-Ramos, President and CEO of the California-Mexico Studies Center, Inc. (CMSC), a non-profit organization leading the National Campaign to Restore DACA’s Advance Parole, and I am hereby respectfully requesting for USCIS to expedite approval of 30+ applications for humanitarian Advance Parole (also referred to as the I-131 Application for Travel Document) that our organization has assisted Dreamers to file since July 1, 2019.
Our organization pioneered a study abroad program for DACA recipients, using the educational purpose Advance Parole authorization, and I led 5 groups of 35 Dreamers each from January 2015 to August 2017, providing over 160 Dreamers the opportunity to return to their birthplace, reconnect with their family and cultural roots, discover and learn as an adult in Mexico.
But on September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspended the Advance Parole provision for DACA beneficiaries, after the Trump Administration ordered the termination of the DACA program. As a result of this arbitrary and discriminatory administrative practice, DACA beneficiaries have been unable to be with their loved ones at critical moments and/or take advantage of important educational and employment opportunities abroad, and the consequences have been devastating.
Moreover, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California preliminary injunction filed on January 9, 2018 ruled that the government had the discretion to accept and approve Advance Parole applications from DACA recipients for “deserving cases” per lines 14-16 of page 46. Furthermore, the court ruled that, “nor does this order bar the agency from granting advance parole in individual cases it finds deserving, or from granting deferred action to new individuals on an ad hoc basis”.
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Support our National Campaign to Restore DACA's Advance Parole
On July 1, 2019, the CMSC launched the Advance Parole Application Assistance Program to help DACA beneficiaries apply for humanitarian Advance Parole, as a way to challenge the discriminatory practice by the Trump Administration to systematically suspend and deny all DACA recipients’ applications for Advance Parole, and to establish grounds for class-action litigation on behalf of all Dreamers denied due process and court-ordered consideration of all I-131 applications.
Now we're embarking on the 3rd phase of our National Campaign to Restore DACA’s Advance Parole and will take 50+ Dreamers to Washington, D.C. during November 9-15, 2019; including 30 Dreamers that have filed their humanitarian Advance Parole applications as part of our assistance program, to personally advocate for expedited approval of their I-131, Advance Parole applications.
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
- To request expedited approval and advocacy for current Advance Parole cases (from our AP Assistance Program)
- Secure additional signatures for a bicameral “Dear Colleagues” letter led by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Alan Lowenthal, and Sen. Kamala Harris.
- To request meetings with the DHS Secretary and USCIS Director
- Ask for an oversight hearing on Advance Parole or at least include AP on the agenda of an oversight hearing
- Participate in a forum with CA delegation at their weekly lunch meeting for a couple of Dreamers to share their personal suffering and dire need for Advance Parole (on Wednesday, Nov. 13)
- Visit all congressional offices that pertain to the districts of participating Dreamers, and those that we did not visit in the past two advocacy trips.
But we cannot do it alone! We need your help. Please donate to our campaign today!
This phase of our campaign is essential because the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 is unlikely to be approved by the current Senate, and the U.S. Supreme Court will not rule on the future of DACA until next summer. Therefore, Dreamers remain in limbo and their dire need for humanitarian travel will continue to be denied Advance Parole authorization for an indefinite period.
MAKE YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TODAY!
Check out our ActBlue Fundraising Campaign, or donate on the button below:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all sponsors and individual donors who have donated to our National Campaign to Restore DACA's Advance Parole since January 2019.
Without your support we would not have been able to take a total of 50 Dreamers to advocate in Washington, D.C. in January and June of this year. Thank you for believing in our cause !!!
––> Read full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/81acc58d87f1/cmsc-calls-for-expedited-approval-of-30-dreamers-humanitarian-advance-parole-applications
