President Barack Obama recently declared he is putting a stop to the deportation of children of illegal immigrants. The president said in his announcement that he would be lifting “the shadow of deportation” that hangs over the heads of young people who “study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, are friends with our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag…who are, for all intents and purposes, Americans.”
This latest development in the immigration saga is a temporary stopgap that gives a reprieve to young, eligible immigrants currently at risk of deportation. In his speech, the president reiterated that the ill-fated DREAM Act remains his long-term goal but that this proposal, far from being a “permanent fix,” is still the “right thing to do.”
In 2010, the House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act, which would essentially provide a road to citizenship for these children, but the act stalled in the Senate and now lies in a puddle of murky, politically charged water. Obama committed to signing it into law, but the chances of it reaching his desk anytime soon are highly unlikely. So this proposal is essentially the next best thing.
But what does it actually entail? Well, it basically means that around 800,000 currently unauthorized immigrants brought to the country when they were under the age of sixteen—who have lived here for more than five years, are either in high-school or have graduated, are not criminals and are under the age of 30—can receive a two-year work permit.
Is this a case of something being better than nothing? Sadly, it does seem that the “dream,” for some people, is destined to be deferred indefinitely; and though there is little to cheer about in a two-year reprieve from the fear of being kicked out of the only country you know, at least it’s…something.
What took the president so long to make this decision? It seems very convenient that this announcement comes on the brink of an election cycle. It’s been almost two years since the DREAM Act met its end, so why didn’t he enact this reprieve then?
Then there’s the matter of the actual increase of deportations of illegal immigrants during Obama’s administration, more than any other since the 1950s, with an annual average of 400,000, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report in 2011. The poll stated that deportations have risen “about 30 percent higher than the annual average during the second term of the Bush administration.” So with all this talk of dreams, what’s with the nightmarish record?
The president has really done nothing of significance to gain the confidence of the immigrant population in this country—until now. Very convenient timing. In the last two years, about 800,000 dreams have been crushed, and you’ve got to wonder if the president’s own aspirations for four more years are the only reason he’s paying attention now.
It’s hard to see this as anything more than vote-hunting. These communities, who received some of the biggest promises from Obama and who have often railed the loudest at his inactivity on their behalf, are suddenly being handed pacifiers.
As much as my heart rejoiced, and as much as I was glad to see the ugly cloud lifted from above the heads of young people who’ve expected it to rain at any time, there was still a sense of deep disappointment in the president. If the fate of hundreds of thousands of children were truly a priority for him, this decision should have come far earlier than now.
Maria Sofia, a student at a recent Right to Dream rally in Los Angeles, held up a poignant sign that read, “Obama, you can’t court us and deport us.” Perhaps that says it all. These young people, who will be and already are part of building this country, deserve far better than a last-minute decision.
If he does get four more years, Obama has a lot of time to make up for. Let’s hope he shows with his actions that dreams don’t just belong to the power players of our country, but that they belong equally to those whose fate has never been in their own hands.