We Welcome Promise to Stop the
Deportation of (Some) Young Immigrants
Safety and Security for All
Immigrants Still a Dream
We welcome President Obama’s decision
to stop the deportations of over a million immigrant youth who may be eligible
under terms described today. We hope this will be a first step towards ending
the punishment of all undocumented immigrants and the separation of families.
We congratulate the tens of thousands
of youths, their families, friends and allies who have fought for over a decade
for relief from deportation, initially through the proposal of the “DREAM Act”
and more recently with calls for an executive order by President Obama. Without
a doubt, the very visible actions of undocumented youth and students in recent
years “coming out” as undocumented, and leading nationwide actions and
mobilizations, has been critical to this evolution of policy. Only yesterday,
the TIME magazine cover story focused on young undocumented
immigrants: “We are Americans – Just not legally.”
Not lost is the fact that Obama’s
announcement comes as news polls are showing that Latino voters may not be as
eager to cast their vote for him this November as they overwhelmingly did in
2008. The news also comes as we await the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on
Arizona’s SB1070 -- a ruling expected to further bolster state-level policing
and racial profiling of immigrants.
To be clear, this is not
legalization. This policy will provide temporary relief from deportation for
hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. Sadly, many will miss this
opportunity; younger siblings and parents can still be deported. This will not
end the record-level deportations – over 400,000 people a year — by the Obama
Administration. The president even reaffirmed his commitment to immigration
enforcement, including having “more boots on the ground” at the U.S.-Mexico
border than any other administration. Numerous enforcement initiatives continue
to identify, detain and deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible.
While the Administration repeats that it is only seeking out the “most
dangerous criminal” immigrants, we know that people who are caught driving
without a driver’s license are being deported, as is an immigrant parent who
has re-crossed the border in order to reunite with children here in the U.S.
Last August the Administration had
announced in another enforcement reform that it would use "prosecutorial
discretion" to provide an opportunity for "low priority"
immigrants with deportation orders to have their cases reviewed and
deportations deferred. Since then, less than two percent of the reviewed cases
have been closed, and community members continue to be detained and deported,
raising concern about the promise of today's announcement and the actual
implementation.
Under this process, young
undocumented immigrants must apply for eligibility, including submission of
fingerprints. The deferred action from deportation, which will be considered on
a case-by-case basis, lasts for two years, when it will expire and a renewal
request may be made. Those granted the deferral may apply for work
authorization, to be granted “based on economic necessity for employment.”
Given the punitive enforcement environment, there will certainly be
well-founded fears about coming forward to request deferred action, and there
will be a need for widespread community education about this policy. It will
also require vigilant monitoring as it goes into effect to ensure that it is
done fairly.
The announcement is sure to draw fire
from the Right. Congressional Republicans have held up passage of the DREAM Act
for years, and even during Obama’s Rose Garden statement, a heckler in the
audience was shouting about these immigrants taking jobs away from Americans.
According to the Department of
Homeland Security fact sheet, in order to be eligible for deferred action from
deportation, individuals must:
•
Have come to the U.S. before the age of 16;
•
Have resided continuously in the U.S. prior to June 15 and be
present in the U.S. on this date;
•
Currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have a GED
certificate or have been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or U.S.
armed forces;
•
Have not been convicted of “a felony offense, a significant
misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat
to national security or public safety;”
•
Not be above the age of thirty.
The serious misdemeanor offenses
could include such violations as one DUI, one marijuana possession, domestic
violence or an assault charge.
As significant as this development
may be, the need to provide formal relief from deportation — and the
opportunity to legalize status — remains for over 10 million other undocumented
people in this country. This deferral from deportation is not legislated, and
as such, can be taken away by administrative action. Immigrant workers,
families, communities will not be safe and economically viable without
legislated immigration reforms that provide fair avenues for legal status and
which will remove the punitive enforcement programs that continue to traumatize
communities and separate families.
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To read Dept. of Homeland Security Fact Sheet on today's
announcement, click here.
Information:
Catherine Tactaquin, ctactaquin@nnirr.org
Laura Rivas, lrivas@nnirr.org
We Welcome Promise to Stop the Deportation of (Some) Young Immigrants
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