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After Public Outcry, Feds Agree To Reopen Certain Medical Deferral Requests

Robin Lubbock
/
WBUR
Jonathan Sanchez, a cystic fibrosis patient at Boston Children's Hospital, and his father Gary. The Sanchez family entered the U.S. in 2016 on tourist visas.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) now says it will reopen certain medical deferred action cases, including for a number of Boston-area immigrants who previously received denial letters.

The announcement comes after a tumultuous week in which federal agencies contradicted one another and severely ill patients feared a total end to the humanitarian process that allows immigrants to remain longer in the U.S. while they receive medical treatment.

WBUR first reported the apparent end of medical deferred action in late August.

After reporting on the denial letters, USCIS told WBUR that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was taking over medical deferred action requests.

But the next day, sources at ICE said they were blindsided by the change and had no policy or program in place to handle these requests. The denial letters we reviewed had no mention of a new policy being administered by ICE.

Later, an ICE statement confirmed the requests are no longer an option.

In its first press release on the matter, USCIS said that anyone whose case was pending as of Aug. 7 will have their request reopened and reprocessed.

The government never issued any sort of public notification about the end of medical deferred action, but instead, in an email, told the American Immigration Lawyers Association:

"The change became effective on August 7, 2019. USCIS field offices are informing the public of the change in person on an individual basis."

Legal advocates across the country have reported clients receiving similar denial letters from USCIS — none of which mention the agency's claim that requests would be processed by ICE.

127 members of Congress, led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ed Markey, along with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, USCIS and ICE, urging the Trump administration to reinstate the program.

The letter gives the administration until Sept. 13 to provide details about the decision around ending the program.

The Boston-based Irish International Immigrant Center has several clients affected by the end of medical deferred action. Executive Director Ronnie Millar said Monday that the announcement from USCIS gives some hope to families who received denial letters, but he said it doesn't go far enough.

"This announcement does little to correct the injustice of ending deferred action, and only delays the cruel effects of the government's decision," he said. "We all remain concerned that the government is ending this life-saving program."

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.