The Good
DREAM Act Students Push For Deferred Deportation Action
The Obama administration is quietly halting some deportations of undocumented young people, after a memo in June that directed immigration officials to consider reprieve for students and would-be military members. Meanwhile, young people facing deportation are still forced to jump through hoops to stay in the United States. Monji Dolon, a 25-year-old born in Bangladesh, is slated for deportation and applying for deferred action from the government, which would allow him to stay in the U.S. legally for another year.
Hispanic Organizations Give Obama and Congress a C
Leaders of the nation’s major Hispanic organizations, issuing their first progress report on their priority issues, gave C grades on Wednesday to President Obama and to Congress for their performance over the last two years. But they warned that even the small gains Hispanics have seen are at risk of being erased in negotiations by the bipartisan committee that will recommend ways to reduce the federal deficit. Immigration is “clearly an area where the president overpromised and underdelivered,
The Bad
No Job Guarantee Under Ill. Dream Act
Roberto Gonzales, a professor in the School of Social Service Administration, studied students who immigrated to the U.S. unauthorized as children with their parents. Those who went to
college did fine academically, but job prospects that make use of their degrees are dim without legal status. The Illinois Dream Act aims to collect private funds to help these students get higher education, but it offers no status adjustment. Gonzales says the solution is the federal DREAM Act, which confers legal status to individuals who came to the country with their parents before age 16 and either enroll in college or enlist in the military. It has been debated in Congress for 10 years, but has not passed.
The Ugly
Secure Communities Agreements Canceled, Participation Still Required
Activists are outraged over a Friday announcement from the Department of Homeland Security that it will move ahead with its controversial Secure Communities immigration enforcement program, even if states do not agree to participate. The government faces a backlash over Secure Communities, a program that allows federal authorities to screen fingerprints of those arrested by local police in order to detect undocumented immigrants. Critics say the program nets large numbers of non-criminal undocumented immigrants and takes focus away from the primary targets of immigration enforcement, violent offenders.
Arizona appeals immigration ruling to Supreme Court
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer appealed to the Supreme Court to revive the state’s disputed immigration policing law, seeking a ruling that could free states to take aggressive enforcement action against undocumented immigrants. Following Arizona’s lead, Georgia, Alabama and Utah have adopted similar enforcement laws. In addition, Clement cited measures in Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee that authorize police to check the immigration status of those they arrest.
Anti- immigration bills keep state legislators busy
Five states — Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah — created laws similar to a controversial Arizona immigration law, known as SB 1070, which requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of people they lawfully stop and whom they suspect to be in the country illegally. All five of those laws have been challenged in federal court, with opponents citing federal preemption and violation of the 4th and 14th amendments.
DREAM Act supporters try to get Hatch’s ear
Hatch had been a reliable, regular supporter as it came up for votes in various forms throughout the years. However, in December, he skipped a vote on the DREAM Act in the Senate to attend a grandson’s graduation. He said he would’ve voted against it had he been present. “Look at the DREAM Act. I mean, he sponsored it. Then he said he wasn’t going to support it. Then it came up for a vote, and he missed the vote. So everybody’s offended,” Chaffetz said.
