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Students protesting outside an Obama campaign office. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
The White House will halt the deportation of as many as 800,000 young illegal immigrants and in some cases give them work permits, in a sweeping new initiative announced by the Department of Homeland Security. The process will begin sometime in the next 60 days.
People under 30 who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas when they were under the age of 16 will be immune from deportation if they have not committed a significant misdemeanor or felony and have graduated from a U.S. high school or joined the military. They can apply for a renewable two-year work permit that won't provide a path to citizenship. Applicants will have to prove they've lived in the country for five consecutive years.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters on Friday that she believed the move "is the right thing to do" and will help the agency focus on deporting criminals. "It is not immunity, it is not amnesty," she said. "It is an exercise of discretion so that these young people are not in the removal system."
Young people will have to proactively apply and pay for the temporary legal status at a local United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office. If the deferred status is granted, they can apply for a work permit.
"I wouldn't say we are encouraging people to step forward," an Obama administration official told reporters. "We are making a process available and people can make their own decision."
President Barack Obama was to address the change in a speech Friday afternoon.
Young people who were brought into the country illegally or overstayed their visas as children are commonly referred to as "Dreamers," referencing the title of a decade-old bill that would have given them legal status if they joined the military or attended college. The DREAM Act passed the House nearly two years ago but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. Opponents of the bill have argued that it would encourage more people to enter the country illegally, while supporters say it helps people who were brought up as Americans and whose lack of status is not their fault become full members of society.
President Obama has faced criticism from the crucial Hispanic electorate for ramping up deportations under his tenure and for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform within his first year in
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/report-white-house-halt-deportation-young-illegal-immigrants-133800284.html
Get your citizenship or get the hell out of here!!!!!!!!
To hell with Obammys must have votes.......
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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