Author: Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia is the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and founding director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Penn State Law in University Park. She is the author of "Beyond Deportation: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Cases" (NYU Press 2015) and "Banned: Immigration Enforcement in the Time of Trump" (NYU Press 2019).
"The Cruelty is the Point": U.S. Still Deporting Severely Ill People With No Legal Status—Despite Announcing Otherwise

“The Cruelty Is the Point”: U.S. Still Denying Protection to Severely Ill People With No Legal Status—Despite Announcing Otherwise

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USCIS announced on September 19, 2019 that deferred action was reinstated by USCIS. Despite the reinstatement, the outcome in deferred action cases we handled or tracked across the country continue to raise concerns.

Since the September 19, 2019 reinstatement, USCIS has received 458 initial deferred action requests, with 43 granted, 90 denied, and the rest administratively closed, withdrawn or pending.

USCIS should commit to processing deferred action cases regularly and end the practice of denying protection to the most vulnerable.