Coalition Launches RenewNOW! Campaign Urging Community to Immediately Renew TPS & DACA

March 13th, 2018

NYIC + Legal Service Providers + Affected Individuals Hold Press Call To Announce New Resources, Encourage Renewals


NEW YORK, NY – On Tuesday, March 13th, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) held a press call with legal service providers and affected individuals to launch a new campaign– RenewNOW! Developed with service providers, RenewNOW! is a public campaign to inform and urge all Haitian, El Salvadoran TPS and DACA recipients at risk of losing their status to seek legal help immediately from I-ARC members. The NYIC will also announce the creation of new educational materials for New York’s diverse communities.

“Now more than ever, we are reaching out to DACA and TPS recipients with a clear message: do not wait; apply right now to renew your status. Trump’s almost daily attacks on various immigration programs have created confusion and uncertainty, but our service providers are ready to help DACA and TPS recipients renew now to avoid falling through the cracks and becoming undocumented. Immigrants are essential to the fabric of our New York,” said Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

“New York City is home to tens of thousands of Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status recipients. While the Trump Administration pushes an inhumane campaign to force these valued residents from their homes, the City stands with them,” said Maribel Hernández Rivera, Executive Director of Legal Initiatives at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “New Yorkers with DACA and TPS contribute to our economy, support families, and make our city stronger every day. The de Blasio Administration has committed unprecedented dollars to immigrant legal services, and we want to ensure New Yorkers in need are able to access this help. We encourage any New Yorker who had or has DACA, as well as TPS from Haiti, El Salvador, and Syria, to connect to immigration legal help to learn about their options, including renewal. New Yorkers can simply call 311 and say ‘ActionNYC’ to receive free and safe immigration legal assistance.”

“Many DACA and TPS recipients live outside the 5 boroughs of NYC. Renewing is especially important for them, because they need proof of status to drive: to get and renew NYS drivers licenses. Transportation barriers also make it harder for them to find the legal services they need to get their questions answered and to file renewal applications if possible. That’s why it’s so important that they know we are here and ready to help. Neighbors Link and other providers have scheduled legal clinics and blocked out consultation times specifically to assist DACA and TPS recipients. We can provide mobile services, bringing legal help to people in their own community centers and houses of worship. Anyone looking for legal assistance with these or other immigration legal matters north of NYC should call Neighbors Link 914-666-3410,” said Karin Anderson, Director of Legal Services at Neighbor’s Link.

The deadline to renew for Haitian and Salvadoran TPS recipients is Monday, March 19th. TPS is set to terminate for Haitians on July 22, 2019 and for Salvadorans on September 9, 2019.

"Thanks to TPS I was able to buy a house, get a driver's license and a car, get health insurance, and support my children. If TPS ended, it would put my life in disarray because I would be shut out of opportunities and worst of all, be at risk of deportation,” said Inmaculada Oliva, TPS recipient from El Salvador.

The deadline to renew for DACA recipients has been temporarily extended beyond March 5th because of ongoing court issues, but could be ended at any point. Those currently under DACA should continue to submit renewals so they are not at-risk of being undocumented.

The NYIC urges everyone with TPS, DACA, or other immigration legal concerns to consult an attorney and send in materials via mail with a method that is trackable. Individuals can get a legal consultation by calling the Office of New Americans (ONA) hotline, 1-800-566-7636.

Background

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a designation afforded to nationals of countries all over the globe experiencing humanitarian crisis such as violent conflict, environmental disasters, or epidemics that would prevent nationals from returning safely. As of today, there are an estimated 325,000 TPS recipients living in the United States, representing ten TPS-designated countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Over 30,000 TPS recipients reside in New York, including 16,200 Salvadorans, 4,600 Hondurans, and 5,200 Haitians. $958.3 million would be lost from state GDP annually without Salvadoran workers who hold TPS; $262.9 million would be lost from state GDP annually without Haitian workers who hold TPS.

Six months ago, President Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and designated March 5th, 2018 as the deadline. Since then more than 15,000 individuals have lost their DACA status at a rate of 122 people per day.

On Monday, February 26th, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the Trump administration’s petition to bypass the usual Court of Appeals process, maintaining the current district court injunction to continue to accept renewal applications for DACA. The district court injunction allows anyone who has DACA at any time to either renew or re-apply to the program.

Over fifty percent of DACA recipients under the age of 25 are on track to receive a bachelor’s degree, and in total, over ninety percent of DACA recipients are employed. In the next 10 years, the country stands to lose $460.3 billion in GDP if DACA is ended without a legislative solution.

In New York alone, there are approximately 42,000 DACA recipients, and 115,000 Dream Act-eligible individuals in the workforce who would add a projected $1.75 billion to the state GDP annually over ten years.