Like a lot of DREAM Activists, Phoenix's Daniela Cruz is both elated and skeptical in the wake of President Barack Obama's watershed decision not to deport young immigrants such as herself.
"I'm happy, and at the same time, I know it's all politics," the 21-year-old says following the June 15 announcement of the stopgap measure that would allow individuals brought to the United States before their 16th birthdays to apply to remain in the country and obtain work authorization.
The president's move was notable for what it was not. On its own, it's not a pathway to citizenship nor is it a blanket grant of "backdoor amnesty," as critics such as Governor Jan Brewer have labeled it.
As outlined in a memo by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the administrative action "confers no substantive right [or] immigration status."
Individuals still will be processed by immigration authorities on a "case-by-case basis" and will be subject to a number of requirements. They can be no older than 30, must have remained in the country for five years, and must pass a background check.
They must be in school, have graduated from high school, obtained a GED, or be an honorably discharged military vet. They cannot have a felony or a "significant misdemeanor" on their records.
If implemented systematically, the president's action could affect the lives of about 1 million individuals nationally. But the legislative concept behind the DREAM Act has been around for more than a decade. In that time, the proposal's advocates have been burned repeatedly by politicians and federal flunkies.
So Cruz, who was brought to the United States from Mexico by her mother when she was 10, would like President Obama to walk the talk.
"The first thing I want to see are DREAMers who are in jail right now — the undocumented students who would fit the criteria — [get] released from detention," she said.
Cruz and other DREAMers plan to "hold Obama accountable" for his words. They're grounded by the knowledge that even if they qualify for what Napolitano calls "deferred action" in her memo, it will last only two years, after which they must reapply.
Also, a lot can happen in two years.
"We know that if Obama doesn't get re-elected, [Republican GOP contender Mitt] Romney might cancel the whole thing," Cruz said.
"Might" is the crucial word there. After all, Obama's smooth move effectively outflanked the Republicans, who had been cooking up a similar legislative proposal to be sponsored by Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, often touted as a prospective running mate for Romney.
Reaction from GOPers to the Obama initiative generally divided into two camps: the shrill and the soft-pedalers.
On local TV news stations, recalled former state Senator Russell Pearce looked as if his head were going to explode in rage. He waved a copy of the Constitution in reporters' faces, calling the president's action "illegal," "unconstitutional," and "malfeasance."
Nationally, some Republicans made similar comments, promising a lawsuit to block the action. But they are as full of bunk as Pearce.
Obama most certainly has the power to do what he did. In fact, more than 90 law professors recently wrote him arguing that he had "clear executive authority" to make such a decision, and that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement possessed "prosecutorial discretion" when it came to the undocumented.
That is, the agency can and does regularly choose whether to pursue the removal of individuals in the country illegally.
That letter was part of a larger effort to nudge Obama into doing the right thing, as the president previously had told students pushing for DREAM Act legislation that he could not issue such an order.
In that instance, he was wrong; he could've issued this new directive at any time during his presidency.
The combination of political expediency and pressure from DREAMers and their allies moved Obama to see the error of his ways.
Immediately after Obama's White House speech on the matter, Brewer called a press conference to denounce the new policy as "blatant political pandering" and a "preemptive strike" on the U.S. Supreme Court's soon-to-be-announced ruling on Arizona's breathing-while-brown law, Senate Bill 1070.
Both points may be correct, but so what? Obama's policy change is only an "outrage," as Brewer called it, if you disagree with it. And polls consistently have shown that Americans support some form of the DREAM Act. Even Arizonans approve of the proposed legislation by a 3-1 margin.
(Note: A Bloomberg poll released as this column went to press showed 64 percent of American voters support Obama's move.)
As for political pandering, that's something Brewer should recognize, as she's a master of it. Signing 1070, fear-mongering, trumpeting a nonexistent crime wave, and talking up fictitious headless bodies in the Arizona desert all helped Brewer get elected. Just as Chuck Coughlin, her ear-whispering political Cesar Millan, told her it would.
But with illegal immigration at a 40-year low and the economy still in the doldrums, nativist politics is proving itself a risky proposition beyond the GOP's nativist base.
For one thing, most people are worried about the lack of money in their wallets. And for another, even Republicans dare not ignore an increasingly powerful Latino electorate.
as if Americans don't commit horrendous crimes against humanity. Oh yeah we call it war and protecting citizens of other countries Do you have an idea how many of our guys have blood on their hands not from one but from many and we chose to call them heroes. Tell me how many other countries go to war as much as we do. Oh and I refuse to carry my passport inside my own country. I get asked for it I will sue.
ignorance and lies go hand in hand. No I am an American Citizen just not think different than you but I keep forgetting that in your American little world if I don't believe your lies and check them out for myself I am then not considered American. Good grief I thought America meant FREEDOM. I'm wrong about that toi huh?
yeah just that everythung related to john illegal is inaccurate &15/hr come on. Food Stamps Ilegals are undocumented you need Id and A social to identify you. therefore obviously no food stamps EDD or helo of any kind on government funded programs. when they file income taxes which they must if they ever want to be considered for any type of legalization process. They get back $0 because their ITIN is only to identify and report. Do your homework before spreading such innacuracies. Everyone would be able to get on any of those programs by just claiming to be undocumented. Give you governmental workers some credit you're making them out to be idiots running our country and I'm sure through out the years. There was bound to be someone as smart as you to come out change it or do you think you are the only smart American in this country that no one would have found all the flaws you have and changed it. They have'nt because it's nothing like you say. Get educated then maybe you will have something of use to someone instead of just spreading HATE and LIES
Illegal aliens including DREAMies are losers; pure and simple. They need to return home and apply to come back to the USA like any other legal immigrant. If it means waiting in line for a few years, so be it.
No, I'm not fine with it..that's why, after retiring from public service, I became a full time volunteer with a global social service organization to help as much as I am able. But you lay out some bullshit about unions and the cessation of trade agreements to pursue the American Dream while claiming to give a shit about the 30k+ children that die of starvation every day is ludicrous.
No, I'm not fine with it..that's why, after retiring from public service, I became a full time volunteer with a global social service organization to help as much as I am able. But you lay out some bullshit about unions and the cessation of trade agreements to pursue the American Dream while claiming to give a shit about the 30k+ children that die of starvation every day is ludicrous.
No, Kay, judging by the reply you gave on a previous post that you were just fine with people making 32 cents an hour and getting a bowl of rice for lunch, it is YOU, THAT IS FINE WITH HAVING YOUR LIFE DEPEND ON THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS. Stop kidding yourself. Calling me names is just clouding the issue you don't want to face.
Your way of life depends on the suffering of others while you spew your union, working class trade agreement bullshit!! Do you realize that if we were to take all the planets resources and spread them out equally among the 8 billion that we would all live as in the nike / fish / rice scenario of yours. In order for the current population to live in a manor as anyone able to post on this thread (Americans) we would need nine planet earths to provide the resources and another whole planet just to dump all the waste. You claim to be so damn righteous with your conspiratorial bullshit and the everyone else is so blind. But the truth is that the very computer you're using to spew your bullshit depended on the exploitation of others. Get out from under your little bubble and take a look at your own selfish bullshit before you start preaching to others.
Again, in my opinion, this is the underhanded by the administration, carrying out of the many working class trade agreements that continue to be so ruinous to American citizens and so profitable to bottom line labor. I marvel at the blindness and arrogance of so many of the posters here and elsewhere, that cannot grasp what is happening to them and going to continue to happen to them. So many of these youth think they are so hip, but they are going to experience a reality they could never imagine.
The only way I glady accept Obama's political error, is if he plans for the IRS to create a specific (double tax deduction table) which includes their immediate families still living in the USA with them, 4 FREE. Perhaps this table says it all: American JOHN vs. Illegal JOHN You have two families: "John Legal" and "John Illegal". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in Arizona. John Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted. John Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 in cash "under the table". Ready? Now pay attention.... John Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; John Legal now has $31,231.00. John Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200 per year.John Illegal pays no taxes. John Illegal now has $31,200.00. John Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. John Legal now has $24,031.00. John Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics and emergency hospitals at a cost of $0.00 per year. John Illegal still has $31,200.00. John Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. John Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000..00 per year. John Legal now has $18,031.00. John Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps, WIC and welfare. John Illegal still has $31,200.00. John Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. John Legal now has 9,631.00. John Illegal receives a $500.00 per month Federal Rent Subsidy. John Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. John Illegal still has $ 31,200.00. John Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for car insurance. Some of that is uninsured motorist insurance. John Legal now has $7,231.00. John Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00. John Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.. John Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month. John Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work. John Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family. John Legal's and John Illegals children both attend the same elementary school. John Legal pays for his children's lunches, while John Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. John Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. John Legal's children go home. Now, when they reach college age, John Legal's kids may not get into a State School and may not qualify for scholarships, grants or other tuition help, even though John has been paying for state schools through his taxes, while John Illegal's kids "go to the head of the class" because they are a minority. John Legal and John Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but John paid for them and John Illegal did not pay. If you vote for or support any politician that supports illegal aliens, go figure! You are part of the problem!
It wouldn't surprise me in the tiniest bit. D.C. is now run by a clearly disconnected from actual citizens, criminal cabal, called the Senate and Congress and W.H. all working to screw what was formerly called American citizens.
They are busy filing false complaints against LEO's. They are busy calling home and saying come now! They are busy getting their work papers and soon they will miraculously all have jobs while citizens continue with massive un and under employment.
Here come the hordes. Big win for the globalists. US national sovereignty - well there is no question now where our political monied class stands. TRAITORS! And they claim to serve us? Exactly how is that? I heard rumor that MSthirteen has huge contingent here in AZ laying low for what purpose? Perhaps this is exactly the purpose.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
