By: Daniel Nardini
In a complete (sort-of) reversal to an immigration procedure for the past 60 years, undocumented family members of U.S. citizens will be allowed to stay in the United States pending possible legalization of their immigration status. Before, these undocumented family members would have to leave the United States and go back to their countries of origin to receive the necessary paperwork and visas to (if possible) return to the United States legally. As many undocumented people will tell you, the paperwork may never come through, and once they have “broken U.S. immigration law” they may be banished from ever entering the United States for ten years. As our wonderful immigration system always says, it all goes on a “case by case basis.” Even under the propose change, the person’s status officially does not change. They are still “illegal.” What this means is that because they are still categorized as illegal and that they actually must go back to their country of origin to be interviewed and then wait for the documentation to come through.
It all sounds like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. That seems to be the way of things in this election year. And in my book this is why this “change” is coming out at all. Think about this—for the most part U.S. President Barack Obama has done little or nothing about immigration. For many Latinos as well as many immigrant communities across the United States, this smells of betrayal and a “do nothing” policy. Obama realizes that he needs all the votes he can get to get a second term. With the Republican front runner most likely to become Mitt Romney, Obama is now turning to the one sector that he had neglected during this entire time—Latinos. Their votes may make the difference in the next presidential election. With many of the things that Romney has been saying, it is doubtful that he will be winning too many Latino votes. Since Obama knows he will get no support from the Republicans in the U.S. Congress for any substantial immigration reform, he will do something on his own. So Obama is offering this small tidbit for Latinos.
Will Latinos accept this? Many Latinos had high hopes that Obama would keep his promises when he was first elected in 2008. Many Latinos were to put it mildly disappointed when he did not. Will he keep any of his promises in a second term? Latinos are not sure of that. This change may be a minor overhaul of our largely unworkable immigration system. As for those who believe they might benefit from this change, I urge caution. This is an administrative change and I cannot be too sure how true and how far it will go. For those who hope this small crack in the immigration process might benefit them, I urge all hopeful immigrants to consult with an immigration lawyer.
Confusing Immigration Change
By: Daniel Nardini
It all sounds like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. That seems to be the way of things in this election year. And in my book this is why this “change” is coming out at all. Think about this—for the most part U.S. President Barack Obama has done little or nothing about immigration. For many Latinos as well as many immigrant communities across the United States, this smells of betrayal and a “do nothing” policy. Obama realizes that he needs all the votes he can get to get a second term. With the Republican front runner most likely to become Mitt Romney, Obama is now turning to the one sector that he had neglected during this entire time—Latinos. Their votes may make the difference in the next presidential election. With many of the things that Romney has been saying, it is doubtful that he will be winning too many Latino votes. Since Obama knows he will get no support from the Republicans in the U.S. Congress for any substantial immigration reform, he will do something on his own. So Obama is offering this small tidbit for Latinos.
Will Latinos accept this? Many Latinos had high hopes that Obama would keep his promises when he was first elected in 2008. Many Latinos were to put it mildly disappointed when he did not. Will he keep any of his promises in a second term? Latinos are not sure of that. This change may be a minor overhaul of our largely unworkable immigration system. As for those who believe they might benefit from this change, I urge caution. This is an administrative change and I cannot be too sure how true and how far it will go. For those who hope this small crack in the immigration process might benefit them, I urge all hopeful immigrants to consult with an immigration lawyer.