Executive Order – Millions of Immigrants Could Stay and Work

Work Authorization for 5 Million Unauthorized Immigrants

Although President Obama is currently globetrotting around Asia, his immigration policy as it pertains to people in the United States is grabbing national headlines. Obama promised an executive order (history of executive actions) on immigration in September. This was in response to two developments. The first was the inability of the House of Representatives and Senate to agree on comprehensive or piecemeal immigration reform, even though the prospects of immigration reform were imminent after the 2012 general election. Immigration reform is a broad term that includes border security, pathways to residency and citizenship for undocumented migrants, and changing aspects of our immigration system, be it employment- or family-based.

After two years of legislative inertia and grandstanding, it is painfully obvious that immigration reform will not occur through Congress. A stalemate was also achieved in 2007, when President Bush and Senator McCain supported plans resembling the DREAM Act were halted by virulent opposition. The president did not issue an executive order prior to the election, as cowering Democrats supplicated him not to, fearing that their party association would tarnish their election chances.

Many of those electorically-driven Democrats have been voted out of office in favor of a more Republican Senate and House that is vocally opposed to Obama’s forthcoming actions on immigration. While promising to do whatever lawful actions possible to improve the immigration system, the president will be unveiling a plan for protecting up to five million unauthorized immigrations from deportation and provide them with work permits. The protected will be parents of children who are American citizens or legal residents. The foundation of American immigration policy is family togetherness, so this comports with that goal. The parents will be able to obtain legal work documentation, not have to worry about living “in the shadows” with deportation threats, and separated from their families. According to media reports, the White House is debating whether that plane should be for people living in the United States for at least five years or at least ten. They are also hatching plans to extend protections to undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children, in the vein of a DREAM Act. An additional aspects of the order will expand opportunities for legal immigration possessing highly sought after tech skills, increase border security, and further mobilize a controversial enforcement program called Secure Communities. The 12,000 agents part of the immigration enforcement apparatus will receive clearer guidance as to who is a high priority and who is a low priority for deportation. Convicted criminals, foreigners who pose national security threats, and recent border-crossers will be the high priority threats.

The extra dimensions at play in this upcoming order are their connection to budget negotiations and the nomination of Obama’s Attorney General nominee, Loretta E. Lynch. Hopefully, the executive order will not be jettisoned for the sake of other political considerations. Immigration reform has been debated, resisted, weakened, delayed, imminent, and gridlocked over the past seven years. The president has promised an executive order, and it seems one is coming next week. The Law Offices of Andrew Wood is optimistic that this executive order will be beneficial and applauds this way overdue but critical action in alleviating the fears and burdens of millions of unauthorized immigrants. If the president follows through, this would be an excellent measure in providing relief to deserving millions.Immigration Reform Now!