6 Things You Need to Know About Deferred Action and DREAM Act Students
President Obama Takes Important Step to Help Immigrant Youth
On 6/15/2012 President Barack Obama announced that his administration will suspend deportation (“deferred action”) and grant work authorization to DREAM Act-eligible youth, effective immediately. These youth, who were brought to the United States at a young age, have been living in limbo as Congress plays political football with their lives by failing to pass the DREAM Act and give them a pathway to legal status. Though the president’s action cannot grant permanent legal status, it is a significant step forward that will give piece of mind and the ability to work to a significant group of people.
The president’s announcement raised some questions, so we offer some clarity below by listing six things that you need to know about deferred action and DREAM Act students:
1. Does the president have the authority to do this? Yes. Deferred action is a type of prosecutorial discretion available to the president as part of routine immigration law. It allows the president to stop or suspend the deportation of an individual and to grant that person work authorization. Presidents from both parties have used deferred action frequently since 1971.
2. Who is eligible for deferred action? Similar to the provisions of the House-passed version of the DREAM Act in 2010, anyone who came to the United States before age 16, and is over age 14 and under age 31 on June 15, 2012, is eligible if they have been in the United States for at least five years, are in or have completed high school, are in the armed services currently or have been honorably discharged, and have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or multiple misdemeanors. Individuals under 15 years old who are in, or get placed in removal proceedings, are also eligible to apply.
3. How many people are eligible? Up to 1.4 million people will qualify. DREAMers not already known to the Department of Homeland Security will be able to come forward and apply for the deferred action.
4. Isn’t this amnesty? Absolutely not. Deferred action is only a temporary two-year status; it is not permanent residency. It isn’t a reward for anything, and it does not allow any immigrant to bring over their family members. Further, it does not bring a single extra person into the United States. These youth already live here. DREAMers will be able to apply for this status, and it will be decided on a case-by-case basis. This is not a blanket form of relief.
5. Will this policy encourage more illegal immigration? No. This policy is neither a magnet for undocumented immigration nor a long-term solution to the problem. Only individuals who have been in the country for five years before today are eligible to apply for this temporary protection. It merely allows qualifying individuals to stop looking over their shoulder and start looking toward their future until Congress can overcome its paralysis.
6. Do we still need Congress to pass the DREAM Act? Yes! The president’s announcement gives only temporary legal status to DREAM Act-eligible youth, and it can be revoked with the stroke of a pen by the next president. Only Congress can pass a law—the DREAM Act—to protect these students permanently and give them a pathway to citizenship.
What Obama and his ilk fail to realize is that breaking the law is still....well, breaking the law.
Obama's Immigration Move Puts Pressure On Latino Groups To Deliver In 2012
Posted: 06/19/2012 9:20 pm
"One of the things that we've been saying for years to Latino voters is, 'Look, you have to vote based on your hopes, your dreams, your agenda, who best speaks to what you want to see happen," said Service Employees International Union Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina, who advocates for immigration reform. "When you have a candidate that does this, by god, you need to get out and support him."
About half of Latino voters know an undocumented immigrant personally.
As many as 1.4 million undocumented immigrants could benefit from the policy change, according to a report Friday from Pew Hispanic Center. Obama's deportation announcement could mobilize Latino voters who otherwise would have stayed home, supporters of the policy change said.
"If [Obama] continues to take these types of steps he's going to surely get a very strong showing in terms of turnout, in terms of support, in terms of energy level," Arturo Carmona, executive director of Latino group Presente.org, said. The organization is already hearing from members saying they are more excited to work toward the president's reelection.
"If Obama wins, and the Latino vote is consequential in that win, it means that Republicans are going to have to sue for peace with Latinos and sue for peace on immigration reform," he said. "They're going to stand up to the loud, but not large, nativist wing of the Republican party."
What Obama and his ilk fail to realize is that breaking the law is still....well, breaking the law.
It is not Grace vs Law
It is limited grace within the law
The approximately 800,000 young people who will have a somewhat regularized status under this executive order
will not be able to vote
they not only are not citizens
they are not under this plan yet legal residents
they are allowed to have an ongoing status that allows them to come out of the shadows
There is no DIRECT political gain from them for the President
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Their families are, by definition, illegal aliens
The adults who brought them here have not had their status changed.
There is no DIRECT political gain from them for the President, since they cannot vote.
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There is real gain in other ways
more students who can legally attend college
more talented young people who gain be productive members of the economy
earning real wages from which social security and medicare are deducted
EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT EARNING THE RIGHT TO DRAW SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE
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Is there political gain for the President here
Yes
and not just those of Hispanic background who are citizens or legal residents
Ultimately doing the right things is not only good policy, it is good politics
MOST American people believe in treating people fairly
This policy treats young people fairly
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The Republicans keep saying that the President should have addressed immigration in regular order through the Congress while he had majorities in both bodies.
The President did - The President tried
The Dream Act passed the House
The Dream Act had a majority in the Senate
The Republicans killed it by threatening a filibuster
The Dream Act did not have the 60 votes necessary to overcome the filibuster
A minority of the Senate prevented the clear will of the Congress and of the American people from being accomplished by ordinary legislation.
If the Republicans want to continue to be obstructionist, the President should use the inherent powers of the executive branch to do the work of the American people.
Dream Act supporters claim that only children would benefit from such a bill, but the facts tell another story. Under most Dream Act proposals, amnesty would be given to individuals up to the age of 30 — not exactly children. Other proposals don’t even have an age limit.
The Dream Act also rewards the illegal immigrant parents who knowingly violated our laws. Once children become U.S. citizens, they can petition for their illegal immigrant parents and adult siblings to be legalized. Those adults will then bring in others in an endless chain, which only encourages more illegal immigration.
Dream Act proposals are also a magnet for fraud. Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim that they came here as children or that they are under 30, and the federal government has no way to check whether their claims are true. The facts show that the Dream Act is riddled with loopholes.
“If my kids went to sleep hungry every night and my country didn’t give me an opportunity to feed them, there isn’t a law, no matter how restrictive, that would prevent me from coming here.”
Dream Act proposals are also a magnet for fraud. Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim that they came here as children or that they are under 30, and the federal government has no way to check whether their claims are true. The facts show that the Dream Act is riddled with loopholes.
imperfect people in washington coming up with imperfect laws - stop the presses
I wasn't speaking of religious law...I am speaking of civil law. That is what we have to deal with for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbang123
Your knowledge of the first does not color your perspective on the other? We have a legal system partial based on the Ten Commandments, still there are examples of the strict Old Testament God being gracious.
Example of a little grace and mercy in the law in the Old Testament (embrace the concept)
Numbers 35:10-12
“ Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.
Dream Act supporters claim that only children would benefit from such a bill, but the facts tell another story.
A Dreamer’s primer on President Obama’s new temporary status policy
Some answers to concerns of undocumented youths about applying for relief
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 4:00 AM
The dream of legal status is coming true for thousands of young immigrants. President Obama has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cease deporting undocumented youth and ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to grant them employment authorization.
The President acted after Congress failed to provide relief. As information on the application process becomes available, I’ll provide analysis and tips on preparing applications. I begin today by answering some questions I’ve heard from Dreamers.
Q. Should I be afraid to apply since a President Romney could reverse the Obama policy?
A. Let me make this position clear: qualified applicants are making a big mistake if they pass up this opportunity. If my wife, sister or brother, or son or daughter qualified, I would urge them to apply.
A President Romney would have a hard time reversing the Obama policy. He would have that power, but he won’t use it.
As the Dreamers come forward, I am confident they will win the hearts of the American people. Support for them will grow preventing anyone from taking their rights away. The Dreamers are not some Dickensonian urchins hovering in dark corners of our city. They are our neighbors, members of our basketball teams and school bands. And, they are among our nation’s smartest and most successful students.
And, most of them will have new friends — their employers. Imagine 500,000 Dreamers supported by small business owners and the CEO’s of major corporations. This employer group alone should be enough of a lobbying group to stave off anti-immigrant restrictionists.
Finally, no matter whether you are pro or anti-immigrant, I have news for you. The tide has turned. The growing political power of our country’s immigrants is forcing restrictionist politicians like Romney to temper their statements on the issue. Leading Republican politicians, including candidate Romney may denounce Obama for implementing a policy Congress was unwilling to make law, but few are willing to deny that the Dreamers deserve relief.
Q. By applying will I put my parents at risk? Will ICE come after them?
A. I double dare them! I don’t think the American public would tolerate it. Further, by getting legal status, the Dreamers will be in a better position to help their parents politically and perhaps legally as well. Finally, some may find a way to permanent residence and U.S. citizenship becoming an important voting block.
Q. If USCIS denies my application, will ICE come after me?
A. I’m confident the answer is no except for applicants with serious criminal records. Anyone arrested or charged with a crime should speak to an immigration law expert before applying.
Q. What are the basic qualifications?
A. To qualify for Dream Act deferred action, you must:
1) Have come to the United States before the age of 16;
2) Have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years prior to June 15 and have been in the United States on that day;
3) Currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a Graduate Equivalency Diploma, sometimes called a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
4) Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
5) Not be above the age of 30 as of June 15.
6) Must be at least age 15 except for individuals in removal (deportation) proceedings who can apply prior to turning 15.
Q. What are the benefits of deferred action status?
A. The main benefit is protection from being deported from the United States. You will no longer need to hide your status. Also, you are eligible to apply for employment authorization. While the Department of Homeland Security says that you need to show “an economic necessity for employment,” I think the agency will be generous in granting authorization.
Q. Should I apply now or wait?
A. If you are in danger of immediate deportation, you should immediately notify ICE that you are qualified for deferred action. Otherwise, wait until USCIS issues guidelines and filing instructions. USCIS rules already allow for individuals to apply for deferred action, but filing under those rules now will be a waste of time for Dreamers. For other undocumented immigrants facing deportation, deferred action is available, but only in the most sympathetic cases.
Q. For how long will USCIS grant me deferred action status?
A. The initial grant will be for two years. Some are worried that USCIS will end the program after two years and deport the Dreamers. I’m not.
Q. Where can I get more information?
A. You can get links to reliable information at the CUNY Citizenship Now! website cuny.edu/citizenshipnow, at the USCIS website, uscis.gov and at ICE’s website ice.gov, or by calling USCIS’ hotline at (800) 375-5283 or ICE’s hotline at (888)351-4024.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York's Citizenship Now! project.
There are more than 50 million Latinos in the United States today, and Obama’s announcement on Friday that the government will no longer look to deport immigrants who can prove they were brought here before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been here at least five years, have no criminal record, graduated high school or served in the military, could affect as many as 800,000 illegal immigrants.
But many Latinos are also disaffected voters. In Florida, 638,000 Latinos are eligible to vote but are unregistered. “The people don’t want to vote,” Nelly Medina, a volunteer for the National Council of La Raza, told ABC News. “There’s a lot of apathy. The two candidates that there are, they don’t like either of them.”
Whose policies will attract more Latinos who are registered to vote or convince more to register to vote?
Deferred action, huh? Isn't that the position they took with all the pot dispensaries in California? You know -- the ones they turned around and started busting? If you think they won't start deporting these people as soon as they prove to be more of a liability than a benefit, then you're only fooling yourself.
Deferred action, huh? Isn't that the position they took with all the pot dispensaries in California? You know -- the ones they turned around and started busting? If you think they won't start deporting these people as soon as they prove to be more of a liability than a benefit, then you're only fooling yourself.
The tide has turned. The growing political power of our country’s immigrants is forcing restrictionist politicians like Romney to temper their statements on the issue. Leading Republican politicians, including candidate Romney may denounce Obama for implementing a policy Congress was unwilling to make law, but few are willing to deny that the Dreamers deserve relief.
Our current system of legal immigration is stupid, the dream act is a sensible change.
WEDNESDAY, JUN 20, 2012 10:07 AM
Finally, the Republican Legislation Responses to the White House Dream Act-like Decree
Why are some Republican lawmakers pushing an unpopular and doomed measure to roll back Obama's new policy?
While the official response to the Obama administration’s immigration announcement from the top rungs of the GOP has been largely muted or non-existent, there are some moves lower down within the party to undo the policy. This, despite the fact that a rollback has zero chance of success and looks like a major political loser — can they just not help themselves?
Rep. David Schweikert, a Republican from immigration-obsessed Arizona, introduced legislation Monday that would block enforcement of Obama’s new policy. “Last week, the president decided to grant amnesty and hand out work permits to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, while over 23 million Americans remain unemployed and the civilian participation rate is at a 30-year low,” Schweikert said.
There’s a similar bill from Rep. Ben Quayle, also from Arizona, which has the support of six other Republican lawmakers. Quayle’s “Prohibiting Back-door Amnesty Act” would also prohibit the implementation of the new policy. “President Obama and Secretary Napolitano’s decision to end the enforcement of many of our nation’s immigration laws is stunning in both its arrogance and shortsightedness,” Quayle said.
And yesterday, a group of 20 Republican senators led by Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Obama questioning the legality of his immigration decision. “It is astonishing that your administration would grant work authorizations to illegal immigrants during this time of record unemployment,” they wrote.
The policy has also drawn the ire of at least a dozen other Republican lawmakers, and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has threatened to sue the Obama administration to prevent it from going forward.
Bills like the ones Schweikert and Quayle proposed have no chance of becoming law, and will likely only serve to alienate Latino voters, who overwhelmingly approve of Obama’s new rule. Even if their legislation passed the House — Speaker John Boehner criticized the policy, but made no suggestion that he wants to undo it — it has little hope of clearing the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has praised the policy. And if by some miracle it did clear both houses, Obama could always veto it. So the legislation is little more than a suicide run, both in terms of policy and perhaps politics as well.
Sixty-four percent of likely voters said they agreed with the president's ruling, with just 30 percent opposed, according to a Bloomberg News poll. And independent voters approved it by a two-to-one margin. Meanwhile, Obama’s already-strong support among Hispanics surged, especially in swing states, while Mitt Romney and the GOP remain unpopular. The decision seems to have single-handedly erased the “enthusiasm gap” Latinos felt for the president.
It’s no wonder Romney has failed to come up with anything meaningful to say about the decision and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell punted yesterday, defering to Romney. But at least saying nothing is better than actively opposing the highly popular move in a hopeless legislative push.
But, at least when it comes to Schweikert and Quayle, they likely don’t have the best interests of their party or its presidential nominee in mind. The two are running against each other in a member-on-member primary in Arizona’s 6th Congressional — redistricting forced them together — and their bills are likely more about posturing for the GOP base at home than winning over the middle.
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