New Obama Immigration Policy Guidelines Raise Concern
By Raisa Camargo, Voxxi
While critics of the policy, led by Republicans, are warning of the potential for fraud, immigrant rights groups are warning people not to apply for deferment until the administration finalizes the guidelines.
A flurry of people filed applications for deferment in the days following the Obama administration’s announcement, a federal official said. It’s still not known how these cases were processed.
Meanwhile, there is a growing fear that immigrants who begin filing for deferment once the process is clear will make their status known to immigration authorities and face possible repercussions depending on who gets elected in November.
“There’s always a risk and a possibility that they’re going to use that,” said Gaby Pacheco of United We DREAM Network, the nation’s largest DREAM Act advocacy group. “It’s just a risk that we’re going to have to take.”
Pacheco told VOXXI that there is concern among persons who come forward and turn in their information to immigration authorities. Yet, she considers the president’s option better than living with the uneasiness of deportation. Pacheco added that she trusts the measure will be implemented correctly if they work closely with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“We’re capturing as many glitches as we have on the ground,” she said.
The Obama administration’s measure would allow an estimated 800,000 persons, who came here as children, to defer deportation by securing a renewable two-year stay in the United States.
The basic guidelines would apply to individuals younger than 30 who arrived in the United States before the age of 16; They would also need to prove that they have lived in the United State for five years prior to June 15, 2012; were in school or graduated from school; or a honorably discharged veteran of the military; and not convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or multiple misdemeanors.
Currently, a person who is seeking relief under the new measure will be rejected. Both the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and USCIS will each be issuing their own policy outline on how to deal with the president’s directive policy on Aug 14.
Yet, there’s still the question of whether those who are ineligible face deportation. Other pending concerns are also surfacing, including whether the USCIS and ICE will implement sufficient protections against fraud.
Republicans such as Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Texas, charges that the doors are open for “massive fraud.”
“Because the President announced this new policy without first receiving the input of the agencies responsible for its actual implementation, I understand that you do not yet have the answers to all of the questions listed above,” Smith wrote in a letter sent to the director of ICE.
He also produced internal documents that indicate undocumented persons are already seeking relief under the new policy.
But ICE officials said a policy that would provide relief from deportation is not a new policy. A year ago, ICE director John Morton issued a directive that gave immigration authorities wide latitude about whether to deport noncriminal immigrants — particularly those who have family ties in the country.
The recent memo underscoring Obama’s new policy said this prosecutorial discretion still exists, said ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas. That means that cases who already qualify under Morton’s memorandum from last year are being processed.
“Deferred action has been granted on a case by case basis to some individuals whose cases may differ from the specific criteria set forth” under this new policy, according to ICE.
Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said at this point speculation about the new policy guidelines is worthless.
“They (Republicans) are manufacturing a concern that is, at best, premature and, at worst, totally unsupported,” said Saenz.
ICE’s involvement in the new policy directive will also be minimal as opposed to the memorandum issued last year.
ICE will only be reviewing cases for deferred action of those who are currently in removal proceedings or who are part of the agency’s larger prosecutorial discretion review. USCIS will be reviewing deferred action cases of those who have final orders of removal and persons who are not currently in removal proceedings, but who have voluntarily identified themselves.
Smith called some of these actions a legal stretch and charged that is was not sound policy and aimed more at being a political sound bite.
Among the questions left unanswered is whether persons who have been removed should be paroled back into the country and whether family members would also benefit if an individual is eligible.
Stacey Hadeka, an attorney who deals with immigration cases, compiled a Q&A for Hispanic Link News Service on eligibility for deferred action from ICE and USCIS agents. Her perception is that, so far, the agencies are still not sure about the new policy guidelines.
“They’ll probably be some fraud, but I don’t know how easy it will be to get away with,” said Hadeka. “How are you going to prove that a person was here on a certain day? They’re basically creating a whole new requirement for immigration. A new test.”
Hadeka explained that there are a lot of holes left in the process, including how the documents should be verified in each state and verifying the exact dates of when someone arrived in the United States. She also said there are various ways that DHS can safeguard against fraud, including a state database.
Credible documentation such as financial records, medical records, school records, employment records and military records would be included in the process. To prevent fraud, USCIS and ICE stated that, “an individual who makes a misrepresentation or knowingly fails to disclose facts will be subject to criminal prosecution or removal from the United States.”
If an individual’s request to USCIS for deferred action is denied, those requests will be referred to ICE. If they have a criminal conviction or there is a finding of fraud in their request, those will be sent to ICE. Family members of someone who seeks deferred status, but who are not eligible will not be granted stay and whether they will be removed has not been clarified.
This article was first published in Voxxi.
Raisa Camargo is a staff writer at Voxxi.
[Photo by ryanjreilly]