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We post a lot of articles about the current state of immigration, changing laws, changing enforcement, and, of course, the […]
I’m writing this late Saturday evening after what I think everyone, regardless of their political affiliation (or lack thereof), would […]
Most immigration happens through family members who are either citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States. To determine if there are any options available for an undocumented immigrant to obtain legal status, family is the first place to look. We want to see, first of all, if they are the immediate relatives of US citizens. Immediate relatives of US citizens include their spouses, minor children and their parents, but only when the US citizen is over the age of twenty-one.
The first thing, though, is to define “undocumented”; what is an undocumented immigrant? Undocumented immigrants are lumped together under other labels, too, such as “illegal immigrants”, “illegal aliens” or simply “illegals”. Our choice to refer to those in the country without authorization as being “undocumented” come from an understanding that actions are illegal, not people. Undocumented immigrants might be in the country illegally, but they themselves are not illegal.
There are a variety of different pathways to legal status for undocumented immigrants. In order to be able to determine what is possible requires information on a variety of subjects. While it is true that not everyone can be helped, knowing an individual’s background can help determine what, if anything, can be done.
President Barack Obama has announced his position regarding his policy on immigration. It is clear that the President waited this long so as not to affect the past midterm election, but it is also clear that a disregard to immigration policy will hurt both Democrats and Republicans at the voting polls.
The comprehensive immigration reform is a bill that had President Obama’s blessing, and was approved by the Senate, but it languished in the House of Representatives for over two years; thus, forcing the President into taking the executive action route.
This executive action will benefit many immigrants who qualify. This benefit will be temporary and could be lost if the political landscape changes (i.e. a Republican President is elected in November 2016 and takes office in January 2017). A new President can simply cancel, or otherwise reverse the executive action issued by President Obama. This does not include the massive opposition the Republican Party will likely (as it has already promised) put forward in the upcoming months.