Six weeks after a federal judge in New York ordered the Trump administration to restore Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), more than 31,000 applications have been submitted, according to Gothamist.

While renewals and first-time applicants are experiencing prolonged delays due to COVID-19 restrictions, an increase in filings due to heavy demand, and a postal service system stretched to capacity, immigration advocates see the volume of applicants as a positive sign for the program.

Hasan Shafiqullah, who runs the Immigration Law Unit for The Legal Aid Society, said it used to take only two weeks to get a receipt, but urged patience noting “adjudications are just going slow across the board.”