During the 2012 president election, President Obama received an incredible amount of support from both young and older generation Latino voters, who voted for a second term of office for the president in the hopes that he would enforce a comprehensive immigration reform bill and help the millions of undocumented and illegal immigrants currently in the country.
President Obama Expects a Quick Immigration Reform
Though a new immigration bill and immigration reform has been on the lawmakers’ laundry list of things to do for many years now, the issue has taken up a new form over the years and now requires a quick remedy. If all goes according to plan, President Obama promises a quick and speedy immigration reform, which may be finalized and passed by the end of 2013. Along with the many millions of illegal immigrants who came into the country looking for better employment opportunities and living conditions, the new immigration reform is also set to provide a pathway to a green card and eventually citizenship to the young children who came here with no choice of their own, as minors or as dependents.Offering such legal opportunities to a younger generation of undocumente
immigrants, the Dream Act, which is quite different from the comprehensive immigration reform bill, was first introduced in 2001. It remained idle for many with opposition from sides and due to a lack of enforcements. In 2012, towards the end of Obama’s first term of presidency, a similar program to the Dream Act known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program was initiated, which allowed a group of undocumented illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. legally.
Reform May Allow a Pathway to Citizenship for Childhood Arrivals over
30 The people eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program had to show proof that they entered the country under 16 years of age, has earned a high school diploma or an equivalent from an accredited American high school and has attended an accredited college for two years or served in the American military for at least 4 years. The program also required the applicants to present them with their criminal record. The biggest problem with the program is the age barrier. The Deferred Action Program includes an age cap of 30 years, dissuading childhood arrivals older than 30 to be unable to apply for legal status. Getting rid of the age cap seems to be one of the components of the comprehensive immigration reform. Not only would that allow all childhood arrivals, regardless of age, to better their lives through legal standing in the United States, but it would also help them unify them with their American neighbors, with whom they’ve gone to school with and grown up with. It is not sure yet what inclusions will be made within the comprehensive immigration reform but heated debates and ongoing discussions have been going on for a while now, with the intention of fixing the existing “broken” immigration system of the United States. As a qualified immigration lawyer based in Seattle, Clifford Jenks provides all manners of legal counsel and answers for immigration questions.
