Obama Administration Vows to Stop Deporting Some Young Undocumented Immigrants
Last Friday, June 15th, President Obama announced that his administration would stop deporting young undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, if they meet certain criteria. While the President acknowledged that this was not a “permanent fix” to the deportation issues that have only been exacerbated under his presidency, his action, “effective immediately,” is a step in the right direction towards the DREAM Act. Explained Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to cnn.com, “Under the new policy, people younger than 30 who came to the United States before the age of 16, pose no criminal or security threat, and were successful students or served in the military can get a two-year deferral from deportation.” Last year the Obama administration deported almost 400,000 undocumented immigrants, and the President has taken heavy criticism from Latino leaders around the world. As many say that the Latino vote will be a determining factor in the upcoming presidential elections, it is not unreasonable to question the political motives behind Obama’s new attitude towards undocumented immigrants. Regardless, though this new policy is a bandaid on a gash, it is certainly an improvement on the administration’s previous policies. We can only hope that ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) obeys it.
