What happens when you delay the delay

By: MiMi Nguyen

Despite issuing a promise to provide relief for the millions of undocumented immigrants in America, President Barack Obama made it very clear in an NBC interview on Sept. 6 that he is going to put a hold on granting deferred action for them. Journalist Chuck Todd, who conducted the interview, reasoned that Obama’s decision was driven by “election-year politics.” The president, however, insisted on unilaterally suspending deportations of undocumented immigrants once campaign season is over.

The White House’s announcement last Saturday was greeted by an outpour of bitter rumble from the activists who have devoted their lives to the issue. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” said the United Farm Workers. Another organization led by the youth to advocate for the dignity of immigrant families, United We Dream, called it “another slap to the face of the Latino and immigrant community.”

Several Democratic senators are locked in tight over reelection battles, suggesting Obama wait for Congress to act. In a campaign debate early last week, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) said Obama should not take executive action for the mere purpose of easing deportations. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) faulted partisanship for stalling progress on immigration advising the president against side stepping congress “when he doesn’t get his way.” This causes significant political pressure for Obama, from his own party, to ease off immigration reform in the face of sensationalized mid-term elections.

The image of an immediate immigration crisis has been created by the sharply rising apprehension of unaccompanied children crossing the border from Central America, during the last year. However, the situation of adult border crossing has slowed slightly over a long-term trend. The Department of Customs and Border Protection revealed 62,997 unaccompanied immigrant minors were apprehended between October 2013 and July 2014. The steady emphasis on undocumented immigrant deportation results in the separation of families, causing the loss of contact for indeterminate durations.

However, not all undocumented immigrants are subject to deportation. Assembly Bill 540 is an added section in the California Education Code, signed by Governor Gray Davis in Oct. 2001, allowing exemption from the payment of non-resident tuition for certain non-resident students who have attended high school in California and received a high school diploma or its equivalent. The undocumented immigrant temporarily becomes a non-resident that must file an affidavit stating that the filer will apply for legal residency as soon as possible, without any possession of a valid non-immigrant visa (F, J, H, L, A, E, etc.). It is important to note that AB 540 does not in and of itself provide any legal protection to a student. An undocumented AB 540 student can still be deported under common circumstances, such as any sort of negative law enforcement contact, which results in a criminal case or conviction. In the likelihood of that scenario, AB 540 students are still subject to separation from their families.

Cal State Long Beach Chicano & Latino Studies professor Armando Vazquez-Ramos dedicates a lot of his time at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles as President to advocate for Mexicans and humane immigration reform. The organizations he represents express extreme dissatisfaction for the false promises made by the president, “up to 1,500 undocumented immigrants are being deported a day, 96 percent of them being Latino.” Vazquez-Ramos agrees with the majority of other unhappy skeptics who call the president “deporter in chief.” He believes that the president’s actions are unfair, labeling the executive delay as “a form of family genocide.” Vazquez-Ramos offers a solution, by granting all immigrants the same benefits and protection as AB 540 undocumented immigrants.

The CSULB organization, AB 540 and Undocumented Students for Associated Student Incorporated’s Secretary, Eva Morelos, tries to bring awareness to the issue on campus as a way of educating and informing others. She hopes to encourage others to do the same by reaching out to their classrooms and any organizations/clubs they may be involved with. “Our
campus needs to create visibility because although we have an AB 540
support group called Future Underrepresented Educated Leaders (F.U.E.L),” says Morelos, “the total number of members who are involved or even aware of the group do not account for all the students on our campus.”

Morelos said that changes need to be made because not even AB 540 students are completely safe. When Obama announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) only certain AB 540 students qualified. Students who do qualify for DACA, they are granted a two-year extension. “This leaves an uncertain future for most after graduation,” says Morelos, “without immigration reform, AB 540 students have difficulties adjusting after graduation, finding employment, and becoming a citizen in all aspects.”

Immigration is American tradition allows those to seek a better life through a process that founded the United States and its population. We live, work, and learn, enabling and sustaining an environment and economic system made by emigration. In another segment of the same episode of “Meet the Press,” the president reins in the fact that America needs ” to be better off if we have an immigration system that works…So the best and the brightest, who want to stay here and invest her and create jobs here can do so.” Said Obama, “That families can be unified, and that a system where the millions of people who are here in many cases for a decade or more, who have American kids, who are neighbors, who oftentimes are our friends.”

While not everyone has the opportunity to do it the right way, the option for allowing people to be accountable for their offenses should not be taken away. “They have a path to get legal by paying taxes, and getting above board, paying a fine, learning English if they have to.” While the idea Obama presents is nothing short of American ideology, the delay on discussion and action tarnishes the original objective, to give everyone a new beginning.