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The fight for a good immigration reform will not end until we have fixed our broken immigration system. But at the same time, you may have noticed that advocates and news media alike have turned their attention to the President, who has the power to bring relief to millions of undocumented immigrants even while Congress fails to act.
There is much speculation about the likelihood of President Obama following through on this promise, whether he will act after the November elections, and how many individuals might benefit. These unknowns aside, it is worth clarifying what the President can and cannot do when it comes to immigration.
The President cannot decide to make the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants into lawful permanent residents. (He cannot give out green cards.) Nor can he change the rules to grant anyone U.S. citizenship. Only Congress can do these things by making laws.
What the President can do is give temporary reprieve to some individuals through prosecutorial discretion (often called administrative relief). Similar to how a police officer can decide to give you a speeding ticket or to let you off with just a warning, enforcement of laws often involves making these choices. Immigration enforcement in particular requires the exercise of discretion. Historically our system has allowed--even encouraged--a certain amount of unlawful immigration because our economy relies on it. Congress has funded less than five percent of what it would take to enforce all the immigration laws. In other words, since the government cannot deport everyone who is deportable, it must choose which individuals to deport.
For instance, the President could decide to focus resources on deporting dangerous criminals rather than deporting parents driving their children to school without a license. Or he could decide to stop deporting so many children. And his administration could implement these priorities by having individuals come forward to prove that they should be a low priority for deportation. This type of administrative action would be similar to the current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrives (DACA) program. Young people with DACA do not have a permanent immigration status. Rather, they have a temporary promise that they won't be deported.
When we advocate for administrative relief, in some ways we're asking for a very small thing: a temporary promise that some individuals will not be deported. And yet, for those individuals the chance to come out of the shadows and get work authorization can be life-changing.
If you are one of the many Disciples who might benefit from administrative relief, there are some things you can do to prepare now. This advice about how to prepare for possible immigration reform also applies to administrative relief:
How to Prepare for Possible Immigration Reform
C�mo Prepararse Para Una Posible Reforma Migratoria
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