Bennet, Congressional Democrats Press Todd Blanche on Decision to Weaken Legal Protections for DACA Recipients

 Pursuant to Senate Policy, petitions, opinion polls, and unsolicited mass electronic communications cannot be initiated by this office for the 60-day period immediately before the date of a primary or general election. Subscribers currently receiving electronic communications from this office who wish to unsubscribe may do so here . M About About Michael Legislation News Press Releases Social Media Newsletter Archive Services Priorities Top Issues Child Tax Credit Investing in Colorado Contact Map Español Acerca de Michael Escribe a Michael Prioridades Servicios Visitando D.C. Bennet, Congressional Democrats Press Todd Blanche on Decision to Weaken Legal Protections for DACA Recipients Denver— Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) as well as U.S. Representatives Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in leading over 50 colleagues to press Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)’s recent decision […] Jun 16, 2026 | Press Releases Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) as well as U.S. Representatives Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in leading over 50 colleagues to press Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)’s recent decision to weaken legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. In a letter to Blanche, the lawmakers raise legal concerns with the decision, highlighting inconsistencies between BIA’s ruling and the forbearance protections provided by DACA and upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. “We are troubled to see the Board, and by extension, the Department of Justice, attempt to circumvent legal protections for DACA recipients, which have been codified in regulation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and affirmed in a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We urge you to take steps within your authority as Attorney General to ensure the Board’s rulings regarding DACA are interpreted in a manner consistent with current law,” wrote the lawmakers. “DACA is well established as a ‘a form of enforcement discretion not to pursue . . . removal.’ As the Board noted in its decision, a DACA recipient ‘cannot be removed from the United States while she has DACA protection.’ DHS established DACA in 2012 by memorandum, and codified it in regulation in 2022 … By regulation, immigration judges may, in the exercise of discretion, terminate removal proceedings for individuals who have received grants of deferred action,” continued the lawmakers. “The Fifth Circuit also maintained the nationwide stay for current DACA recipients, acknowledging the ‘immense reliance interests’ of current DACA recipients and the potential for significant disruption to others reliant on the program. Most important, in its decision, the Fifth Circuit stated that it would ‘not disturb DACA’s policy of forbearance.’ DACA’s policy of forbearance, as explained in the DACA regulation, ‘is a form of enforcement discretion not to pursue the removal of certain aliens[.]’ (emphasis added),” explained the lawmakers. “By concluding in Matter of Santiago-Santiago that an immigration judge may not terminate removal proceedings based solely on the fact that the respondent has been granted DACA, the Board acts in a manner that is inconsistent with the Fifth Circuit’s decision and the Department of Justice regulation permitting termination based on deferred action. The decision fails altogether to consider the DHS regulation’s stringent requirements for maintaining and renewing DACA and the Fifth Circuit holding preserving DACA’s forbearance from removal. Thus, the Board’s decision paves the way for DACA recipients to be detained and placed in removal proceedings without regard for their societal contributions, clean records, or public support, and even though they cannot be removed while their DACA remains valid,” concluded the lawmakers. In addition to Bennet, Durbin, Padilla, Cortez Masto, Kelly, Garcia, and Ramirez, U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas),