Only DREAMers in deportation proceedings benefit

Less than an hour ago I received a text saying: "Homeland Security announced that dream act students will pretty much not be deported and work permits will be given out...."

Very exciting news these are. Now, lets get to what everything really means.

For one, it is true that DREAM act eligible students along with veterans, victims of crime, and immigrants who have ties to family and community (it was stated that this included lgbt family ties) will benefit form this announcement - these “prosecutorial discretion.” However, those students have to be in deportation proceedings. So, if the student was unfortunate or fortunate to have been arrested, the student will more likely benefit under this. Those students who are fortunate or unfortunate to not have been arrested will not benefit.

There are about 300,000 pending cases according to the announcement and the New York Times.

Now, this might seem like a very exciting idea so that we can create a mass-arrest movement so that many DREAMers can benefit. I would be cautious about it however.

One, this new development only highlights the weaknesses of "Secure Communities" program and the fact that the Obama administration was deporting DREAMers. We still need SC terminated or otherwise we are going to have many people in deportation proceedings and really not know who will be able to benefit or not. While Senators had asked Obama to defer DREAM-eligible students from deportation once in proceedings, this discretion does not give those fortunate to benefit a status that would allow them to stay were this discretion by ICE not followed at any point in the future. There is not real change of status unless it is put into law.

Two, if Obama is not reelected, what happens to the cases, not just DREAMers? Obviously this is a political act by the Obama administration to appease those opposing Secure Communities and federal inaction around comprehensive immigration reform. My gut feeling is that Obama will not reverse this discretionary type of action, but this certainly will anger anti-immigrants even more and give them another tool to attack. Obama could possibly not be there come 2013; it is a real concern today.

Three, the likelihood of the DREAM passing before the next elections are slim. If there is no law in place, without Obama in power, it is unclear what being on deportation proceedings under this administrative act would mean under another president, who could be Republican (and judging from the current candidates, we could get even someone very anti-immigrant). We need the law in place.

Over all, we need to think about what happens under this circumstances, without a DREAM and Obama. We need to think about what happens next year, two years, five years from now. Of course we all want DREAM, CIR, but the likelihood of either is frail. Obama has made a courageous political act here and many of us are grateful for that. As we continue to push forward with reform and DREAM, lets be cautious about how we talk about this fortunate/unfortunate administrative development. We don't want to see many being deported next year only because we believed this would work for most.

We need to keep pushing for sensible and responsible laws.

-----------------------------------

These are the categories of people who might benefit:

Immigration officials should consider such factors as:

• the person’s length of presence in the United States;
• the circumstances of the person’s arrival in the United States, particularly if the alien came to the United States as a young child;
• the person’s pursuit of education in the United States, with particular consideration given to those who have graduated from a U.S. high school or have successfully pursued or are pursuing a college or advanced degrees at a legitimate institution;
• whether the person, or the person’s immediate relative, has served in the U.S. military, reserves, or national guard;
• the person’s criminal history, including arrests, prior convictions, or outstanding arrest warrants;
• the person’s ties and contributions to the community, including family relationships;
• the person’s age, with particular consideration given to minors and the elderly;
• whether the person has a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent;
• whether the person is the primary caretaker of a person with a mental or physical disability, minor, or seriously ill relative;
• whether the person or the person’s spouse is pregnant or nursing.