Obamas Immigration and the Dreamers


Barack Obama

Obamas Immigration

 

See below Obamas Immigration talk on MSNBC

“At some point, there’s going to be a President Rodriguez, or there’s going to be a President Chen … The country is a nation of immigrants, and ultimately it will reflect who we are, and its politics will reflect who we are.”

An interesting interview with President Obama about his views on the United States Immigration politics.

 

 

Although it’s been the best part of a decade since Obama left the White House, part of his legacy lives on in the country’s immigration law. Specifically, he signed in the DREAM Act, which profoundly impacted how children of immigrants accessed citizenship.

 

What are DACA and the DREAM Act?

 

DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It’s an immigration policy that gives the children of unlawful immigrants renewable deferred action from deportation. The Act also grants them the right to work in the USA.

Obama signed the bill into law in 2012. Essentially, it’s designed to give children greater rights in the US, as it works on the basis that they didn’t choose to enter the US unlawfully. However, it’s worth noting that it doesn’t act as a pathway to US citizenship.

The DREAM Act, on the other hand, can. Dreamers are “alien minors” – children of immigrants. It grants people conditional resident status, which can serve as a pathway to permanent residency. To obtain permanent residency, applicants must receive education in the US.

But, the DREAM Act currently isn’t signed into law. Therefore, unlike DACA, it’s not legally binding. It’s the second major difference between the two (along with the pathway to citizenship).

 

Dreamers Since the Obama Presidency

 

Since the Obama presidency, the Dreamers bill has been through a rough time. Trump essentially removed any proposals and also tried to reduce coverage of DACA. However, this bill also failed to pass, meaning nothing about either Act was changed.

Then, President Biden proposed the Dream Act 2021. It follows many of the processes suggested in the Obama bill. It begins with conditional permanent residence, which provides working rights and protection from deportation. After this, Dreamers could apply for a Green Card. Then, after five years, they could apply for full citizenship as a normal Green Card holder.

Biden was Vice President during the Obama administration and so had close ties to both DACA and the Dream Act. On his first day in office, he fully reinstated DACA.

He would like to pass the Dream Act 2021, but it so far hasn’t gone before the Senate. It passed the House of Representatives, although it’s unlikely to go much further. Republicans have shot down each previous version of the Dreamers bill, which is unlikely to be any different.

Hopefully, though, a version of the Dream Act 2021 will eventually be signed into law. Currently, thousands of Dreamers (children of migrants) live on temporary status, which is a worrying thing.

 

The Future of Obamas Immigration and the Dreamers

 

Currently, Dreamers can continue applying for DACA. Importantly, it gives them the right to work and protection from deportation. As it’s already law, it’s the closest to permanent legal rights they have. So, we can only hope this changes shortly.

The Obamas Immigration and The United States are more into welcoming new Immigrants than ever before so act now and apply in the upcoming Green Card Program Today!

Obamas Immigration

 

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