How the United States government should handle illegal immigrants has always been a subject of debate and a president’s promise of change manifested in words last night. President Barack Obama announced his plans for what he called “a broken immigration system.”
The executive order contains several different components, the most controversial being the ability of immigrants that have been in the United States for over five years, or who have children that are citizens or residents, to defer deportation.
“We have families that have been in the U.S. for 20 to 25 years that have been undocumented and unable to legalize their status and they have children that are citizens of the US,” Assistant Professor of American Studies and Latina/o Studies Lilia Soto said. “He would stop deporting parents who have children that are citizens and these children, who are United States citizens, would not live in fear of having their parents deported.”
Making it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants and graduates to become citizens will also be a priority, the president said.
Immigrants meeting the criteria that wish to take advantage of the order must register, pass a background check and agree to pay taxes.
Not all immigrants will be protected under the order. Any immigrants not meeting the criteria are still eligible for deportation. Obama cited a focus on prioritizing the deportation of those with criminal records.
The President will be able to implement the reform without congress through an executive order backed by his interpretation of the law.
“What he is talking about is discretion in how existing policy is being implemented and any executive has a range of discretion when it comes to implementing a policy,” Professor of American Politics Jim King said.
There is still plenty of controversy over the matter of Obama acting alone. Opposing sides have called the act unconstitutional.
“Some people think he should be narrow and by the letter applying the existing law, but again there is always discretion in implementation,” King said.
Because of how it will be implemented, the reform is far from a permanent solution.
“What he is talking about is definitely temporary,” King said. “The way to make it last would be to have congress change the existing statute and it is very clear that congress right now is not going to change the statute.”
Obama said he wants Republicans and Democrats to work with him on creating a bill that satisfied both parties. Calling for compromise, the president said he did not want the government shut down over the issue.
“Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement over a single issue be a dealbreaker on every issue,” Obama said. “That’s not how our democracy works, and Congress certainly shouldn’t shut down our government again just because we disagree on this.”
Despite only providing a temporary fix, many consider a victory for undocumented immigrants, Soto said.
“I think everyone would want something more long term, but I think that some people need immediate temporary solutions to their concerns,” Soto said. “I hope that this temporary measure can then open up the conversation to something more long term.”
Along with protections for some immigrants, Obama said additional resources will be sent to border personnel to strengthen security.
“We’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over,” Obama said.
Soto said the discussion about immigration always leads to the issue of border control, but the tendency is off base.
“I think it’s part of the narrative but I do not think it is part of the problem,” she said. “Since the late 1980’s we’ve seen escalation of border control and I don’t know how much more it can be controlled. The question should be about why are they still coming?”
The president acknowledged his critics and said every president of the last half century have taken similar actions on immigration. To those who said the president should not use executive power and work with Congress to pass reforms, Obama’s message was “pass a bill.”
“I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution,” Obama said. “And the day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary.”
The question has yet to be answered fully, but the debate about immigration policy will continue to be a heated one as the order slates to take effect.
“When we think of undocumented immigrants as criminals I think that it stops the conversation right there,” Soto said. “But when we start thinking of them as human beings who literally are risking their lives to cross the border and come into the low wage work that you and I don’t want to do then we can have a more honest conversation about why is it that they are coming in.”
