DACA Update

REMINDER: DHS released a memo in July stating that it would not follow the June Supreme Court decision reinstating DACA. This means that DACA has significant restrictions.

Current DACA recipients: Can continue to apply to renew their DACA. The lenght of permit will be 1 year. The renewal fee remains $495. Renew your work permit between 120-150 days of the expiration date of your current DACA.

New DACA applicants: USCIS will reject all initial DACA applications. Any initial DACA application and fees that have been submitted will be rejected.

Advance Parole: Applications will be rejected unless there are "exceptional circumstances." Please note, being granted Advance Parole does not guarantee re-entry to the U.S. It is important that you seek trusted immigration legal consultation to understand your situation before departing the U.S.

Check out PICC's website or Home is Here for DACA updates and actions. Follow PICC on Facebook for updates and PA actions!

TPS Court Decision

On Monday, Sept. 14th, the Ninth Circuit appeals court overturned protections for nearly half a million TPS holders after making a final verdict on several lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's ending of the program. The decision means that overl 400,000 families from six countries (El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan) will now face potential deportation and family separation. Now more than ever it is imperative that Congress act to protect TPS families. For more information on how to get involved, follow the National TPS Alliance.

USCIS Fee Increase Updates & Lawsuits

On Oct. 2, 2020 many USCIS fees will be increasing and fee waivers will be ended. In August, the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized changes that will increase USCIS fees across the board, eliminate most fee waivers, and create a new fee for asylum applications. Fortunately, this final rule does not contain the original request to transfer funds to ICE.

A coalition of organizations is challenging this new rule in court with the hope that they will be able to stop the rule from being implemented. Until then, individuals can file their applications before Oct. 2 in order to qualify for lower fees and fee waiver.

- CLINIC resource on updated fee schedule
- ILRC resource on new USCIS fee rule

After years of advocacy, Pennsylvania is still home to the Berks County Family Detention Center (BCRC), one of three detention centers for immigrant families, where children as young as two-weeks-old have been incarcerated, and families have been held for more than a year at a time. The Berks detention center is still operating due to the inaction and indifference of the Governor and Berks County Commissioners.

Despite being presented with overwhelming evidence of human rights violations and mistreatment taking place in the detention center, and research outlining his legal power to issue an Emergency Removal Order that would provide immediate protetion to families, Governor Tom Wolf has repeatedly sidestepped responsibility, claiming he has no power to act.

What you can do:
- Join the Shut Down Berks call-in day today! Call Governor Wolf and demand he take action to protect these vulnerable families.
- Attend a monthly vigil at the detenion center. This month's vigil will be Sat. Sept. 19, and will be led by Haitian American Voice. Be prepared: wear your mask, bring your flags and posters, and bring water
- Take action in your own community! Download the campaign's toolkit to take action.
- Learn more about the campaign! Follow the Shut Down Berks Coalition on Facebook, subscribe to the newsletter, and read up on the background of the campaign.

The Shut Down Berks Coalition is a group of organizations and individuals fighting to close the Berks family prison in Pennsylvania and end the practice of imprisoning immigrant families in the U.S. Members of the coalition include organizers, lawyers, immigrant leaders, and allies.

Simanti Lahiri is the Program Coordinator of Student Civic Engagement in the Office of Civic Engagement at Rutgers University, Camden. Where she runs a program placing students in community organizations as well as directing programming initiatives. She holds a MSc. in the Politics of Asia and Africa from the University of London and an MA and Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Simanti’s research focused on the politics of South Asia and contentious politics. Her work examined the ways that social movements can effectively create change as well as fundamental questions of political belonging and citizenship. In her new position she is committed to instilling a lifelong love of community engagement in her students. Simanti is the daughter of immigrants from India and loves to register new citizens with PICC in Philadelphia.

Nyamal Tutdeal is Director of Equity and Inclusion at CORA and an Adjunct Professor at Arcadia University. Nyamal also known as Mal (which means peace in the Nuer language) is a former refugee from South Sudan who was resettled in Sioux Falls, SD with her family. Nyamal has worked with various immigrants, migrants refugees, youth, indigenous and women groups both domestically and internationally as a notable international speaker and an advocate for displace communities. Her advocacy work took her to the white house through Lutheran Immigration Refugee Services (LIRS) during President Obama's second term in office. Nyamal is the co-founder of the NyaEden Foundation, and before joining the PICC board Nyamal was PICC’s Political Director, worked as an International Classroom Educator at Penn Museum, and as Gambling Specialist and Coordinator with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS) with the City of Philadelphia. Nyamal received her Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations, and a Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution with a concentration in NGO Management, and Social Entrepreneurship.

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