Obama Admin Says DREAMers Can Stay

As we reported earlier today, the Obama Administration announced some big changes to its immigration policy towards undocumented immigrants. Most notably administration officials said they would be reviewing 300,000 pending deportation cases on a case-by-case basis, focusing on the “worst of the worst,” and as The Los Angeles Times reported, this means that DREAMers may get to stay:

The announcement marks further steps to stop the deportation of people it considers “low-priority” immigrants like so-called Dream Act eligible students and those with long-standing family ties in the country. These eligible students are those who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children by their parents.

The move means that those who are in deportation proceedings will have their cases reviewed and, if they are set aside as low-priority, could possibly be given work permits. Low-priority individuals will also be less likely to end up in deportation proceedings in the first place, officials said.

While this is not the same comprehensive reform for which many had advocated, it certainly does not resolve the limbo in which these students often find themselves, it does seem to help many in the short term. Even as the Obama administration is taking these steps, states have taken it upon themselves to ensure that their future generations are ready to run things, with so-called “DREAM Acts” being passed in Maryland, Illinois and California.

It remains to be seen what effect this policy will have on those who have the most at stake, but on the face of it the changes would appear to be a return to what President Obama had been saying for quite some time — that criminal immigrants were his administration’s target — even as the Secure Communities program proved that was not the case.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.