In the Media
Pro Bono Counsel Maria Kutnick Speaks to Business Insider about How COVID-19 is Affecting ‘Dreamers’ Fight to Stay in the U.S.
In the Media
Pro Bono Counsel Maria Kutnick Speaks to Business Insider about How COVID-19 is Affecting ‘Dreamers’ Fight to Stay in the U.S.
March 31, 2020
Winston & Strawn Chicago Pro Bono Counsel Maria Kutnick spoke with Business Insider about how the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival’s (DACA) ‘Dreamers’ continue to fight to stay in the U.S. amid the spread of COVID-19 . She explains: "Dreamers are facing the same shelter-in-place requirements as millions of other Americans and thousands [are] working to save lives during a global pandemic.”
Before the pandemic, Maria held in-person legal clinics to help ‘Dreamers,’ however, "That has come to a halt because of COVID-19 and social distancing. We're no longer able to represent these clients in person,” Kutnick says.
As the offices for US Citizenship and Immigration Services are closed, applicants are unable to meet with counsel so ‘Dreamers’ must submit their applications by mail.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will decide this summer whether to uphold the Trump Administration’s cancellation of the DACA program. Moreover, the government has refused to extend deadlines for renewal applications and will not waive fees during COVID-19 -- despite nation-wide layoffs and looming recession.
Maria says what ‘Dreamers’ need right now, though, is not just long-term certainty but short-term relief in the form of extended deadlines, electronic filings, and waived fees.
Read the full Business Insider article to learn about Maria's pro bono work for DACA clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
