Tag Archives: DAPA

What Is YSC?

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Why Can’t I Check My Case Status: YSC, The Potomac Service Center

Many applications that we are filing have a receipt number that begins with the letter string – YSC. Whenever you file an application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, you are issued a Receipt Notice with a case-specific receipt number.

If you are trying to track your case number if it begins with YSC, you will encounter an error. Just like with asylum applications, YSC is not available for case status tracking. YSC represents the Potomac Service Center, located in Arlington, Virginia. It was actually opened to process the expected avalanche of DACA and DAPA applications from the president’s executive orders, but as those are tied up in legal battles, the Service Center has been handling some family-based applications. There is no case status tracking feature available and no processing times available.

New DACA and DAPA Denied at Fifth Circuit

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Fifth Circuit Denies New DACA and DAPA

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitThe US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied an appeal of a preliminary injunction of President Obama’s executive actions for expanding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (new DACA and DAPA) on November 9. A federal judge in Texas struck down the executive actions in February of this year and the Department of Justice has been litigating against states opposed to the implementation of the executive action programs. The decision was divided, but it means that the executive action programs remain unusable. The Obama Administration is expected to seek an immediate review of the decision by the US Supreme Court.

On November 20, 2014, President Obama delivered a speech and unveiled a series of executive actions to improve the immigration system. New DACA and DAPA received most of the attention because of the effects it was scheduled to have on millions of people living in the United States without status. The programs are not immigration status. Rather, they were supposed to provide temporary protection to accepted applicants and work authorization. It was supposed to benefit individuals without a criminal record and not priorities for removal. The programs were nixed by a federal judge before implementation and the millions counting on the viability of the programs have to continue to wait. The executive actions were a response to Congressional inaction over years in implementing legislative immigration reform.

Immigration Reform in the News

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immigration reformImmigration Reform in the News

Immigration reform has probably fizzled out as a possibility, despite looking imminent in 2012 and reaching a crescendo in 2013 with major legislative movement. Here are some recent quotes from Congresspersons on the possibility of immigration reform.

Marco Rubio, Florida Senator and Candidate for President

John McCain, Arizona Senator

Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House

The protections that Marco Rubio mentions are part of the deferred action program (DACA), which has been in effect since June 15, 2012. Mr. Rubio has flatly stated the that DACA program needs to end. An executive action in November 2014 attempted to expand DACA and add relief for parents of Americans (DAPA). The expanded version of it and DAPA were struck down by a federal judge in Texas in February. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has not yet ruled on the matter.

Children & Unauthorized Parents

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Children of Removed Parents

Front and center of the primary election campaigns of presidential hopefuls is the issue of unauthorized immigration. Estimates of unauthorized migrants in the United States range from 11-12 million individuals. They come from all over the world, but much of the attention falls upon people from Central American countries, who are often escaping poverty, civil wars, gang warfare, and

The George W. Bush administration removed millions of unauthorized individuals and the Obama administration was record-setting in its number of removals. The current administration attempted to re-prioritize the removal system in November of last year through executive actions. Part of the revamp was instituting Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. This program was judicially nixed before started receiving applications. The purpose behind it was family unity.

A motivation behind DAPA was that over 5 million children are living without authorized parents. That means they are constantly living in threat of losing one or both parents. The children are American by virtue of birthright citizenship, another issue that has become a lightning rod in primary election politics. Two studies have been conducted by the Migration Policy Institute and Urban Institute with assistance from DHS and ICE. The Washington Post has summarized the results. They cover what happens to the children of parents who have been removed from the United States.

No DACA / DAPA Appeal

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No Appeal for Now

Earlier this week, we covered the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision on the expanded DACA and DAPA programs. The court denied the Department of Justice’s request for a stay on the expanded DACA and DAPA programs, which it requested following a federal court’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction. That means that the programs remain unavailable.

The Fifth Circuit will hear arguments on the merits of the actual preliminary injunction in July. The court’s decision this week could be an augur of the decision on the merits. The decision was 2-1 against the executive action programs. The Department of Justice will not appeal that decision to the Supreme Court. Instead, it will wait for the hearing in July to make its case against the preliminary injunction and make the programs available to millions of individuals who are designated as low priorities for removal.

Expanded DACA was set to go into effect in February and it would have provided temporary relief to millions of undocumented migrants. DAPA was planned for May, and it has not been in effect. The original DACA program from 2012 remains in effect, but the class of individuals that qualifies is limited in comparison to the new executive programs.

Expanded DACA and DAPA are not pathways to citizenship. They do not grant permanent residency. They do not even confer real status. They are supposed to serve as temporary measures so that millions of individuals can obtain work authorization. The benefits that DACA recipients and undocumented migrants are eligible for are contested. The DACA and DAPA programs are supposed to provide relief temporarily while Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform. This has been a legislative priority at points over the past ten years, but it has not come to fruition.