Since early this year, DACA recipients across California have been losing their jobs, health insurance, and driver's licenses, not because they did anything wrong, but because USCIS simply isn't processing their renewals on time. If your DACA status is up for renewal, here is what is happening, how it is playing out for families in the Bay Area and across the state, and what you can do to protect yourself.
What's Actually Happening
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) requires renewal every two years. For most of 2025, that process was fast: about two weeks on average. Now, renewals are taking nearly three months on average, and some cases are stretching to six or eight months, according to immigration advocates.
The math doesn't work in recipients' favor. Many apply months in advance, exactly as USCIS recommends, only to watch their work permits expire before a decision ever arrives. Once that happens, they lose their legal authorization to work, and in many cases, their driver's license, health insurance, and job in the same week.
California Dreamers Are Paying the Price
In Contra Costa County, one local DACA recipient (pregnant and newly unemployed) described losing the career she had spent over a decade building after her renewal did not arrive in time. Her employer held her position for a year, but she still lost her income, her health coverage, and her sense of stability overnight.
Monica Oca Howell, senior attorney at Landerholm Immigration, has seen the same pattern in her own practice since late last year. Many of her clients are breadwinners or homeowners whose entire household depends on a valid work permit.
“It's really important to take action while your work permit is still valid,” Howell advises.
Further south, nearly 9,000 DACA recipients call San Diego home, contributing an estimated $968 million a year to the local economy. Rep. Scott Peters and San Diego business and labor leaders have publicly pressed the Trump administration to explain the backlog, calling the delays intentional and politically motivated.
Meanwhile, immigrant rights organizations had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of recipients who followed USCIS's own recommended timeline and still lost their status. USCIS has not publicly explained the cause of the slowdown.
What DACA Recipients in California Should Do Right Now
- Check your current DACA expiration date today, don't wait for a reminder.
- File your renewal as early as USCIS allows (up to 180 days before expiration).
- If your permit is about to expire and you haven't heard back, talk to an immigration attorney before it lapses, not after.
- Keep copies of your filing receipt (Form I-797), it may help you show a pending renewal to an employer.
- If your work authorization has already expired, get legal advice immediately about your options and how to protect your status.
Worried About Your DACA Renewal? We Can Help.
If your DACA renewal is delayed, or your work permit is about to expire, don't wait until you've already lost your job. Contact Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C. today for a case evaluation.
Oakland: (510) 491-0291
www.landerholmimmigration.com
1900 Embarcadero, Suite 310, Oakland, CA 94606
Categories: Immigration News | DACA
Sources: The Contra Costa Pulse (July 8, 2026), KPBS Public Media (July 15, 2026), and KPBS Public Media (July 29, 2026).