Information and facts of the DREAM Act under Obama's new Deferred Action immigration plan

This past weekend president Barack Obama announced that his administration will halt deportation of DREAMers, undocumented youth eligible for the DREAM Act, and give them temporary work permits.  The announcement made by Obama was made on the same day of the 30th anniversary of the Plyler v. Doe decision which guaranteed undocumented children free public education.


Here is some useful information. 

DREAM Act eligible students celebrate in front of the White House after the announcement made by president Obama, on June 15th 2012. More photos by Carlos A. Quiroz

UPDATES: Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano has announced that applications for the Deferred Action will be available by August 15th.
This is a flyer provided by the office of Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL):

New website: Dream Act Deferred Action

Proven facts about the DREAM Act and the DREAMers:

• The DREAM Act is a bill that needs to be passed by Congress not by the President. What president Obama has done is to order the Department of Homeland Security to stop deporting DREAM Act - eligible students until a bill is passed by Congress. Also Obama has authorized the Department of Labor to provide DREAMers with 2-year renewable work permits. 

• The DREAM Act is a bill that would grant a path to citizenship to those undocumented students who were raised in the U.S. and only after they complete a list of requirements. The bill was killed by the current Senate on December 18, 2010. The final vote was: voting yes 50 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 2 independents. Voting no 5 Democrats and 36 Republicans, led by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

• This is not an amnesty. It’s a temporary measure that needed to be done in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis faced currently by 1-2 million students and their families. Keep in mind that most of the DREAMers are high school and college students or graduates who are unemployed or underemployed and who are part of undocumented families, often facing poverty.  This is something like the TPS program given to immigrants coming from countries facing current harsh conditions.

DREAMers protesting at the White House in 2010. Photo by Carlos A. Quiroz

• This provision doesn’t open a path for U.S. citizenship for the DREAMers nor make them legal residents. Instead, it gives them a chance to apply for jobs legally and stay in the country without fears of being deported (and possibly they will be able to travel overseas if needed). Perhaps some companies may decide to sponsor these students to get the legal residency through a Department of Labor certification. This is secondary for the moment; the important thing is they will not longer being criminalized.

• This provision does not benefit the 11-12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., like myself. This only includes undocumented youth who are 16 to 30 years old, who have lived in the U.S. for the past 5 years, is currently enrolled or have graduated from a U.S. high school, is a veteran of the military, and have no criminal record, among other requirements to be announced. The Department of Homeland Security states that DREAMers need to APPLY for their work permits, starting this week.

• Please read the list of requirements and see if you are eligible. Do not pay fees to attorneys nor private offices to take advantage of this provision, search around for non-profit groups and immigration advocates in your community for more assistance. Information about the DREAM Act new plan posted by the Department of Homeland Security.

• Yes, this is a political move to get more votes in the upcoming presidential elections. This is without doubt, something that president Obama is doing to get more support from Latino voters, since most DREAMers are of Latino, Native heritage. Many DREAMers and immigration reform activists are aware of this. We know that Obama wants to regain the trust of Latino voters, especially because the current administration has deported more undocumented workers than its predecessors. However, we are celebrating this action taken by the Obama administration because it will represent a huge positive impact in the lives of millions of families.

• Undocumented students or DREAMers are not “foreigners” as an outraged activist-journalist screamed at president Obama during and after his press conference. These students were brought here by their parents as children, they grew up in this country, attended U.S. schools and as adults today they share the same positive values of most U.S. people. This is the only home they have. It is estimated that about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools every year.

• This action does not hurt U.S. workers but it's good for the economy. It’s proven that legalization of workers benefits the economy and allows the creation of more jobs. Many of the DREAMers are wasted talented workers until now: college students and graduates, community leaders, extremely disciplined youth who now will be able to contribute to this country in many positive ways. Please read this report and watch the videos I have included at the end this post.

The DREAMers fought hard for it. Photo Pocho.com

• The campaignfor the DREAM Act is not a new movement. This amazing and inspiring movement started years ago but it finally took shape by early 2010 when undocumented students -many of whom are LGBT leaders and activists- "came out" publicly about their immigration status under the motto "Undocumented and unafraid" in different cities across the country. With time, this movement included protests and acts of civil disobedience and was supported by members of Congress especially by Senator Richard Durbin and Representative Luis Gutierrez, both Democrats from Illinois. This blog has reported extensively about this movement.

• The DREAM Act is not a partisan issue. Although most DREAMers are progressive students who support the Democratic Party, but there are also conservative students sympathetic to the Republican party, and mostly independents. I have witnessed this fact while blogging about the movement, and talking to them directly. Of course, the current conservative candidate Mitt Romney lacks of most DREAMers' support after Romney's expressed his public opposition to the DREAM Act. 

• DREAMers are good people. They are not the criminals that conservative, racist critics are saying. Most of these young leaders are very much involved in their communities, and they have a clear concept of the importance of solidarity, activism and political action. They have learned this at home, because even when anti-immigrants call their parents criminals, these students see them as heroes who sacrificed their own lives and safety in order to give them a better future, which finally is coming ahead.

The real impact of this presidential action will be seeing in a few months, when the DREAMers will finally be able to come out of the shadows and well, live a life where they can fully achieve their dreams.


UPDATE: 6 Things You Need to Know About Deferred Action and DREAM Act Students. Posted by the Center for American Progress:

The president’s announcement raised some questions, so we offer some clarity below by listing six things that you need to know about deferred action and DREAM Act students: 

1. Does the president have the authority to do this? Yes. Deferred action is a type of prosecutorial discretion available to the president as part of routine immigration law. It allows the president to stop or suspend the deportation of an individual and to grant that person work authorization. Presidents from both parties have used deferred action frequently since 1971. 

2. Who is eligible for deferred action? Similar to the provisions of the House-passedversion of the DREAM Act in 2010, anyone who came to the United States before age 16, and is over age 14 and under age 31 on June 15, 2012, is eligible if they have been in the United States for at least five years, are in or have completed high school, are in the armed services currently or have been honorably discharged, and have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or multiple misdemeanors. Individuals under 15 years old who are in, or get placed in removal proceedings, are also eligible to apply. 

3. How many people are eligible? Up to 1.4 million people will qualify. DREAMers not already known to the Department of Homeland Security will be able to come forward and apply for the deferred action. 

4. Isn’t this amnesty? Absolutely not. Deferred action is only a temporary two-year status; it is not permanent residency. It isn’t a reward for anything, and it does not allow any immigrant to bring over their family members. Further, it does not bring a single extra person into the United States. These youth already live here. DREAMers will be able to apply for this status, and it will be decided on a case-by-case basis. This is not a blanket form of relief. 

5. Will this policy encourage more illegal immigration? No. This policy is neither a magnet for undocumented immigration nor a long-term solution to the problem. Only individuals who have been in the country for five years before today are eligible to apply for this temporary protection. It merely allows qualifying individuals to stop looking over their shoulder and start looking toward their future until Congress can overcome its paralysis. 

6. Do we still need Congress to pass the DREAM Act? Yes! The president’s announcement gives only temporary legal status to DREAM Act-eligible youth, and it can be revoked with the stroke of a pen by the next president. Only Congress can pass a law—the DREAM Act—to protect these students permanently and give them a pathway to citizenship.

DREAMers protesting in Arizona at the offices of Senator John McCain. Photo The NY Times.

DREAMers organizing protests in Washington DC in 2011.

Please watch these videos. I recorded these videos at the rally held in front of the White House as president Obama was making his DREAM Act announcement, on June 15th 2012:

A DREAMer

An immigration attorney and activist

A DREAM Act activist and organizer

Finally, for those of you who continue seeing undocumented students as criminals, as people who are a burden to society while blaming us of the worst problems of this country. Please take a minute to watch this brief documentary "Limbo" and pay special attention to the final message given by a courageous DREAMer:

LIMBO from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.