With comprehensive immigration reform all but dead, President Barack Obama is starting to act on his own by providing immigration relief to undocumented aliens. His highly successful
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program enabled about half-a-million young
DREAMers a work permit, a valid SSN, and immunity from deportation. It is expected that like the TPS program, this will be renewed indefinitely and even a Republican president may not have the guts to cancel. The president is also encouraging
undocumented aliens to cross the Mexican border and immediately seek asylum using the drug violence in Mexico and Central America as an excuse. The Administration has also declared that those
immigrants who are using fraudulent SSN or green cards will not be prosecuted for working illegally or for identity theft. Now, in another excellent news for unauthorized immigrants if they have children of their own or if they take care of children of someone else (and these kids can also be in the USA illegally but definitely it is a plus if they are citizens) there will be no deportation and most likely no jail time. Unless these folks are hardcore criminals they can use the excuse of taking care of kids to avoid going to jail or being deported. For non-citizen children, it is understood that they are younger than 18 and the immigrants take care of them. They need not be the so-called DREAMers, which does not have a legal definition and in different contexts can be more restrictive.
Brandon Montgomery, a spokesperson for ICE, declared that "...ICE officers and agents may, on a case-by-case basis, utilize alternatives to detention for these individuals particularly when the detention of a non-criminal alien would result in a child being left without an appropriate parental caregiver.” This simply means that
if you are without a child, get one. If you have kids back home, ask someone to put them on a plane to the US. And President Obama is suggesting that
if you plan to come to the US illegally, do not leave home without a child.
Such steps are prelude to what President Obama will do in case CIR officially dies. Using DACA as a blueprint, it is expected that the president will give a
permanent deferral on deportation for all eligible aliens that would allow them to
get work permits,
authentic Social Security numbers and a simple
process to visit their native countries.
