Millions May Be Able to Stay in the U.S.

The Sacramento Bee ran an article on November 14, 2o14 titled: “Obama’s plan will let millions stay in U.S.”

According to the article President Obama is expected to announce as early as next week a “broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system that will protect up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits.”

A key part of the executive order will allow “many parents of children who are U.S. Citizens or legal residents to obtain legal work documents and no longer worry about being discovered, separated from their families and sent away.”   However, the white house may move forward with a “stricter policy that would limit the benefits to people who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years or about 2.5 million people.”

In addition,  undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children (and their parents) could also benefit from the order.

“Obama’s actions will also expand opportunities for legal immigrants who have high-tech skills…and provide clearer guidance to the agencies that enforce immigration laws about who should be a low priority for deportation, especially those with strong family ties and no serious criminal history.”

There is opposition by Republican adversaries in Congress to this proposed move by the President.  House Republicans, according to House Speaker John Boehner are expected to “fight the president tooth and nail”.

However, “the President and his top aides have concluded that acting unilaterally is in the interest of the country and the only way to increase political pressure on Republicans to eventually support a legislative overhaul that could put millions of illegal immigrants on the path to legal status and perhaps citizenship.” The President is expected to reverse his executive orders if Congress passes a comprehensive immigration bill that he agrees to sign.

A republican president could reverse President Obama’s order after he leaves office in January of 2017.  However, at least for now the order would remove the threat of deportation for millions of people.

I highly recommend reading the article.  Stay tuned as the final order is expected to be announced no later than the end of the year.

Lawrence Gruner is a Sacramento Immigration Attorney and has more than 20 years of experience handling immigration cases.  He can be reached at 916-760-7270 or 888-801-6558.