What a great way to start the day! I sat down at my desk, opened my email, and was immediately greeted with good news. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that young people who were brought to the United States before age 16 and who meet several key criteria will no longer be subject to deportation immediately. Instead, they will be considered for relief from removal proceedings for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization. I applaud the Obama Administration for taking this huge step forward for our country’s immigration policy.
What a great way to start the day! I sat down at my desk, opened my email, and was immediately greeted with good news. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that young people who were brought to the United States before age 16 and who meet several key criteria will no longer be subject to deportation immediately. Instead, they will be considered for relief from removal proceedings for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization. I applaud the Obama Administration for taking this huge step forward for our country’s immigration policy.
This is also a big step forward for education policy, because to be eligible for this relief the youth has to be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a GED, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces. Creating a clear path to work authorization (and taking away the stress of possible removal) for eligible, hard-working students will provide them with a powerful incentive to stay in high school and graduate. This should help to stem our country’s alarmingly high dropout rates, which have serious short and long-term economic and health consequences for entire families, communities and our nation. Kudos to President Obama for recognizing this and taking action today, the 30th anniversary of the Plyler v. Doe decision, where the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was against the law to deny children access to public education based on their citizenship status or that of their parents.
Now we look to Congress, again, for a more comprehensive and long-term solution. Congress should move quickly to pass the DREAM Act which will, among other things, give these students a path to citizenship.