Undocumented youth and advocates commended President Obama for the courage to announce an executive order to provide relief for DREAMers. “The President has given us a reason to believe in him” said Caeser Vargas, managing partner at DRM Capitol Group. “We will ensure that people go out to vote to keep this executive order alive.
For the past decade, DREAMers have been marching in the streets and advocating in the halls of Congress and the White House to seek relief. The tears and sweat of so many youth is finally paying off. Immigrant organizers are literally in tears. For them, it’s a signal that the dark cloud of deportation is no longer looming over them, making their dreams and plans seem no longer potential victim to chance and the Joe Arpaio’s of the world.
President Obama’s action now places pressure on Rubio’s bill; It challenges Republicans to come more aggressively to the immigration negotiation table and come up with a permanent legislative fix. This also gives Latinos a good reason to vote: their friends and cousins who’ve been working hard and going to school will be able to stay in the country, as long as Romney doesn’t get in and get rid of the executive order.
For many undocumented youth who can directly reach Latino communities on the ground, this executive order is also a marching order. Undocumented immigrants have put together a network to push for the DREAM Act, and are now celebrating Obama’s political courage. Now, we anxiously await to see if the President and Napolitano of DHS follow through with Obama’s action”.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO):
We look forward to hearing more about this policy change when the President directly addresses our membership on June 22nd at our 29th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. Our nation’s more than 6,000 Latino elected officials are ready to do their part, working with the President, Administration and Congress, to promote policies and legislation that will ultimately make the American dream a reality for those young individuals who are making contributions to the prosperity and fabric of this great nation.
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous:
President Obama is taking an affirmative step toward addressing our nation’s immigration concerns while protecting our supply of intellectual capital. This decision ensures that America retains a future generation of well-educated workers and thinkers who can offer diverse perspectives on the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH):
NLIRH encourages Congress to follow DHS’ lead and take immediate action to pass the DREAM Act, legislation that will go a long way toward ensuring the human and civil rights of immigrant youth. Moving undocumented youth out of the margins and into education and full engagement in their communities will ensure that more Latinas have access to information, resources, and services that will help them make informed and autonomous decisions.»
Stephen Yale-Loehr, Cornell Law School:
The devil is in the details. A Department of Homeland Security memo released announcing this new policy states: ‘No individual should receive deferred action under this memorandum unless they first pass a background check and requests for relief pursuant to this memorandum are to be decided on a case by case basis. Homeland Security cannot provide any assurance that relief will be granted in all cases.’
I worry that the announcement will be implemented more stingily than the administration would like. We saw that happened with the ICE prosecutorial discretion memo issued last June. A year later, only 2 percent of people in deportation proceedings have been offered relief. I hope this policy change will be implemented more generously.
Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s Executive Director:
Immigration reform is the solution we seek but this opportunity is the best thing that could happen to students and their families. The vision and leadership it takes to lift these brave immigrants from the shadows will support their ability to forge great futures for them and their loved ones. Now we need to make sure this proposal is generous, implemented quickly and fairly, and leaves no one behind.”
Hassan Jaber, executive director of ACCESS, and Nadia Tonova, director of the National Network for Arab American Communities:
(Obama’s) announcement moves us forward toward the imperative of fair, comprehensive immigration reform that must achieve a just solution for the 10 million undocumented immigrants whose lives and families are torn apart by a patchwork of dysfunctional policies and laws and mass deportation programs like Secure Communities and 287(g). We must ensure that the many hardworking immigrants that contribute to make this a great nation remain united as families as they are provided a pathway to citizenship.
USCCB
Archbishop Gomez said the President’s action is no substitute for passage of the DREAM Act and encouraged Congress to enact comprehensive and humane immigration reform. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the action of President Barack Obama today to defer action to all young people eligible under the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, saying that it would permit young people who were brought into the United States undocumented to come out of the shadows and more fully participate in society.
“This important action will provide legal protection, and work authorization, to a vulnerable group of immigrants who are deserving of remaining in our country and contributing their talents to our communities,” said Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. “These youth are bright, energetic, and eager to pursue their education and reach their full potential.”
Richard Foltin, AJC’s Director of National and Legislative Affairs:
There are an estimated 50,000-65,000 undocumented students who graduate from American high schools each year. “Many came to the U.S. at a young age, have grown up in American schools, developed American values, and are American in every sense except their citizenship.
While granting deferred action to these students is an important step towards desperately needed reform of our immigration system, we will continue to advocate for legislation that establishes a permanent path to citizenship for these DREAM Act students.
(A UCLA study concluded that DREAM Act participants could contribute $1.4-$3.6 trillion to the U.S. economy during their working lives). These students are vital to our nation’s future. Allowing them to stay in the United States not only benefits them, but also enhances America’s rich, vibrant, and diverse culture.”
MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz:
We look forward to swift, fair, and comprehensive nationwide implementation of the important administrative steps announced (Friday) on this thirtieth anniversary of the prescient Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which established the importance to our national future of educating all students. This administrative action is consistent with the DREAM Act, supported by a majority of both houses of Congress in 2010 but blocked only through a craven Senate exercise of the hoary power of filibuster. Congress should move swiftly to enact the DREAM Act as a longterm guarantee and protection of the powerful national resource embodied in the DREAM student population. We also call upon Governor Mitt Romney to commit, if elected, to following the wise national policy announced today as a policy that is in the clear best interests of the entire nation.»
Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO:
This decision is a temporary, commonsense solution to a profound dilemma—how to make sure we don’t lose some of the best and brightest in our country while they wait for Congress to act. We would caution, though, that this is indeed a temporary fix. Only Congress can give these young people the permanent help they, and as importantly our country, deserve.
Leaders of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC):
Obama’s announcement “gives me and many young immigrants like me the energy and conviction to keep organizing and advocating tirelessly to bring about permanent changes to our deeply broken and obsolete immigration law, however we cannot forget that this is only part of the battle, and we should not only fight for ourselves but to protect our families and communities as well”, stated Dimas Avila, a young immigrant leader with Centro Presente in Massachusetts..
Finally, students “will be able to apply for a driver’s license and be able to drive without the fear of being stop by the police and potentially facing deportation proceedings,” declared Martha Arévalo, executive director at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), in Los Angeles, CA.
“With this announcement, President Obama will certainly begin to dissipate the many doubts many Latino voters have had about where he really stands when it comes to immigrant rights,” stated Ricardo Martínez, a young immigrant leader with the Federation of Michoacán Hometown Association (FEDECMI), from Chicago, IL.
“We are calling on all immigrant rights organizations, particularly those which are NALACC members to once again stretch our capabilities and devote time and energy to educate as many people as possible about the meaning of today’s announcement,” stated Oscar Chacón, NALACC’s executive director. “As it has been the case before, unscrupulous individuals will use this announcement to confuse and financially exploit immigrant communities,” added Mr. Chacón.
Emira Palacios, vice president of the board of directors of National People’s Action:
“This is an important first step, and shows that much more can be done to bring relief to the remaining millions of family members, friends and neighbors who call America home but who live in fear of deportation and whose unsettled status leaves them vulnerable to abusive employment practices. We call on the President to continue using his administrative powers to stop deportations, and we call on Congress to pass desperately needed comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
For more information please go to the Dept. of Homeland Security at http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20120612-napolitano-announces-deferred-action-process-for-young-people.shtm
