Seattle, U.S.A. — As the implementation date for the deferred action for childhood arrivals, announced by President Obama on June 15, 2012, goes into effect, Avvo, the web’s largest expert-only legal and health Q&A forum and directory released a set of legal guides that provide greater clarity on the program, application process, and eligibility and requirements. The new guides, available on the immigration topic page, and authored by immigration attorneys who answer consumer legal questions on Avvo.com, include:

• What is the DREAM Act and Deferred Action?
• Deferred Action Eligibility & Requirements
• Everything You Need to Know to Apply for Deferred Action
• FAQ:  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Since the policy was announced two months ago, Avvo has received hundreds of questions related to the DREAM Act regarding the application process, eligibility, and how the application process will impact family members who are not eligible for the deferment. Further, Avvo has seen an 86 percent increase in the number of immigration-related questions in the first half of 2012 over the same period last year. Texas leads the country with the greatest number of immigration related questions on Avvo.com, followed by California and New York, taking into account population density.

Chicago resident Nevena Georgieva emigrated to the U.S. from Bulgaria nine years ago. She arrived on a green card, and was granted American citizenship five years later. Georgieva is among the millions of people who have received answers to immigration-related questions on Avvo.  “Avvo is an indispensable resource,” said Georgieva.

“I have turned to Avvo for help with my immigration questions, and I’ve used it to get advice regarding my business and for other legal concerns. Not only do I get answers within a couple of hours of asking a question, but I have also benefitted from the thousands of other legal answers and useful resources on the site.”

According to the Pew Hispanic Center up to 1.4 million children and young adults who are in the United States illegally could benefit from the new deportation policy. The 1.4 million estimate includes 700,000 unauthorized immigrants who are ages 18 to 30 but arrived in the U.S as children and are currently enrolled in school or have graduated from high school; and an additional 700,000 who are under the age of 18 and are enrolled in school.

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The DREAM Act could not have been more appropriately christened. Stuck in the whirring cog of bipartisan politics, the legislation has stagnated for over a decade in both the House and the Senate. What was recently announced as the Deferred Action Process for Young People was not the DREAM Act.

Under this process, qualifying applicants are only eligible for the typical two-year work card. Unlike the DREAM Act, Deferred Action will not provide a path to legalization. It will only allow qualifying applicants to legally work and pay taxes. That particular road ends there. Not exactly the reward for a group who, if deserving, should be given the opportunity to obtain that elusive legal status, which remains unchanged by a work permit.

The idea behind the DREAM Act is that children brought to this country, whether legally or illegally, were brought at the behest of their parents and not their own. It’s a simple enough argument: if a young child is brought across the border what say did he or she have at the time? Sometimes these children are brought as young as babies, are raised here for the vast majority of their lives, and are not even fluent in the language of their country of origin.

Sometimes they’re not aware of their lack of status. A social security number does not become a concern until certain milestones begin to appear: getting a first job, obtaining a license, going away for spring break, attending college. A college education can quickly become a pricey illusion, reserved for someone with a different type of birth certificate.

But I digress. The biggest deterrent for the DREAM Act is a factor that is in the very nature of the bill: it lies within the hazy realm of immigration politics. No other political topic can be so adversely affected by other issues in the way that immigration can be. The barometer of immigration can be placed in many fields—in the economy, in international relations, in the interests of big business, and in the murky waters of race politics. Shades of gray abound in this arena.

I am not by any means claiming objectivity here, but I will allege the persuasion of logic. It is hard to argue that laws were intentionally broken by babies and young children. It becomes even sillier to argue that they should be punished for the choices of others, namely their parents who, by the way, should hardly be demonized for trying to give their kids a chance.

I cannot see the harm in rewarding young adults for becoming educated members of society, or for choosing to serve in the armed forces of a nation they desperately wish to call their own.  A chance to allow determined spirits—with a clean criminal record—to legitimately work and pour money into a drained system can only work wonders. This is a system which, by the way, has already devoted many tax dollars towards the education and healthcare of this brood.

Let’s allow them to pay us back for a hefty sum that was—and continues to be—invested, throughout the span of (admittedly short) lifetimes. It only makes sense.

Image Courtesy of  spirit of america / Shutterstock.com

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Senator Marco Rubio is the rising star of the Republican Party. He is seen as the best hope to bring Hispanic voters back to the party they abandoned in the 2008 election, in which, almost two-thirds voted for Barack Obama. But in the 2012 elections things might be different, Senator Rubio is trying to persuade the Latino voters that Mitt Romney would not follow the Arizona example, referring to the immigration law. That’s why he has become a serious option for vice president, and, who knows, if in the future he might be an option for president.

It seems that Mr. Rubio wants to show the world that the Republican Party would be more permissive with illegal immigrants. This is an important move, because if the Republicans are unable to convince the Hispanic population to vote for Romney they could lose crucial states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.

Mitt Romney knows it and trusts that Mr. Rubio would be the man who would balance the forces and bring back the Hispanic vote to the Republican Party. In recent declarations Senator Rubio criticized the Democrat Party position over immigration, he stated that ” there are many in the Democratic Party that want immigration to be unsolved issue at least for the time being, because it’s more useful as a campaign issue than it is as a solved issue.”

The Hispanic Vote has become crucial in this election; it forced Mitt Romney to change the position he had in the primaries, in which he criticized Governor Rick Perry for granting in-State tuition to Texas universities to immigrants, to a much more permissive posture, in which he said he would consider a new version of the Dream Act. Congress voted down the Act in 2012, which supposedly will be proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio.

Senator Rubio is in favor of giving nonimmigrant visas to young illegals that were brought to the United States by a certain date, a date that for now is unknown, as long as they have graduated from high school and haven’t committed any crime. Andrea Saul, a spokesman for Mitt Romney’s campaign, said: “Governor Romney will study and consider any proposal on immigration from his republican partners,” to show that Senator Rubio’s proposals will be heard.

President Obama also knows of how crucial the Hispanic vote will be in this election, that’s why a few weeks ago he passed the Dream Act by an executive order, this will temporally make almost 800,000 young people who were brought to the country illegally as children safe from deportation. This does not mean these individuals can apply for their citizenship. Senator Rubio criticized president Obama´s action affirming that it was “an election-year action that in the long-term is going to have negative consequences.”

The battle to gain the support from the Hispanic voters has begun. Both parties know very well how crucial this segment of the population will be in the November election. A recent Gallup shows that president Obama has over 65% of Hispanic voters support. So now we just have to wait and see if the Republican Party is able to regain their trust. They have already chosen Marco Rubio to fulfill this difficult task; if he succeeds, there is a big chance that in the future he might become the Republican candidate for the White House.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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Washington, U.S.A. – American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds President Obama’s announcement of June 15 of a new Administration policy to stop deporting undocumented youth from the U.S. who would qualify for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

“President Obama’s decision will enhance educational opportunities for deserving students, level the playing field for all children, and bolster America’s role as a leader in the competitive global economy,” said Richard Foltin, AJC’s Director of National and Legislative Affairs.

There are an estimated 50,000-65,000 undocumented students who graduate from American high schools each year. “Many came to the U.S. at a young age, have grown up in American schools, developed American values, and are American in every sense except their citizenship,” said Foltin.

Following President Obama’s announcement on June 15, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin a process for granting “deferred action” to undocumented youth who are in the U.S. and would otherwise qualify for relief under the version of the DREAM Act passed by the House of Representatives in December 2010.

Eligible individuals – including but not limited to those who are currently in deportation proceedings – will be allowed to remain and work in the U.S. for a renewable two-year period.

“While granting deferred action to these students is an important step towards desperately needed reform of our immigration system, we will continue to advocate for legislation that establishes a permanent path to citizenship for these DREAM Act students,” said Foltin.

Citing a UCLA study that concluded that DREAM Act participants could contribute $1.4-$3.6 trillion to the U.S. economy during their working lives, Foltin continued, “These students are vital to our nation’s future. Allowing them to stay in the United States not only benefits them, but also enhances America’s rich, vibrant, and diverse culture.”

Since its founding in 1906, AJC has been a strong voice in support of fair and generous immigration policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the United States to implement its immigration laws and protect our national security.

The National League of Cities

The following statement is from Don Borut, executive director of the National League of Cities, responding to President Obama’s decision to stop deporting young immigrants who came to the United States as children.

“The President has made a sensible decision to allow young immigrants who came to the United States as children and have little connection to their countries of origin to stay and continue to contribute to our country. This change reflects the many positive contributions that these individuals are making to local communities.

“The Administration deserves praise for recognizing the poor performance of the nation’s existing immigration policy. Today’s action only represents a small piece of the reform that needs to occur.  This change does not replace the urgent need for Congressional action to enact comprehensive immigration reform.”

The National League of Cities is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

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Washington, U.S.A. - On 15 June the Obama administration announced a brazen usurpation of Congressional authority by using executive power to implement the DREAM Act. Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will grant deferred action and possible work authorization to certain illegal aliens under the age of 30 who arrived in the U.S. before 16 years of age. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano expects that nearly 1 million illegal aliens will be granted amnesty through this effort.

“Over the past ten years, Congress has repeatedly rejected the DREAM Act. Now, five months before the presidential election, the Obama administration is unilaterally rewriting our immigration laws, defying Congressional authority and threatening our constitutional framework,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

“This is a blatant abuse of executive power that ignores the will of Congress and the American people,” charged Stein.”The Obama administration is engaging in a shameless display of political pandering to satisfy a narrow slice of its party.

“Since taking office the President has slowly stripped away the federal government’s immigration enforcement authority and barred the states from effectively protecting Americans from the burden of illegal immigration,” continued Stein. “The consequence of these actions, and the Administration’s latest expansion of its backdoor amnesty strategy, is the shredding of the Constitution, a wholesale rejection of the rule of law, and an open invitation for more illegal immigration.”

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country’s largest immigration reform group. With over 250,000 members nationwide, FAIR claims to fight for immigration policies to serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued this statement in support of President Obama’s directive on new immigration policy for undocumented students and others:

“President Obama has surmounted Washington gridlock and done the right thing to strengthen the American economy and protect American students marginalized through no fault of their own. Important provisions of the Dream Act, stalled for so long on Capitol Hill, are no longer simply a dream. No one benefits by keeping young adults who play by the rules, many of whom have no memory of their country of birth and consider themselves Americans, in the shadows of society. We need comprehensive immigration reform and with this policy now in force the President has taken a significant step toward that goal.”

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