Policy shift would halt deportation of some immigrants
For years, Angelo Cabrera has fought an uphill battle to help young undocumented immigrants strive to get a good education.
Since Cabrera, 36, founded MASA MexEd on E. 145th St. in 2001 to help immigrant children with their schoolwork, he has seen some of his fellow Mexicans succeed.
But many others, dejected at the prospect that their lack of legal status would ultimately dash any hope of finding fulfilling work, have drifted into dead-end jobs.
“Two years ago we had two students drop out of the 10th grade because they felt they didn’t have a chance,” Cabrera said. “They thought ‘OK, I can finish high school, go to college and then what–just wash dishes? I don’t have status here.'”
In June, some undocumented immigrants received a reprieve when President Obama announced the federal government would stop pursuing and deporting those under 30 whose parents brought them into the US when they were children, as long as they are not considered a threat to national security, and meet other standards. In addition, they would be eligible to receive two-year work permits, as “a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people,” the president announced.
How the new policy works
By Fausto Giovanny Pinto
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration policy, has issued eligibility guidelines for the president’s new proposal. Immigrants looking to benefit must meet the following criteria:
– They must prove they entered the US while under the age of sixteen.
– Have continuously lived in the United States for a least five years before June 15th, 2012, and were in the US on that date.
– Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a GED certificate, or have been honorably discharged from service in the Coast Guard or Armed Forces.
– Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, multiple misdemeanors, or are otherwise deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety.
– Are 30-years-old or younger.
Requests for deferred action are decided on a case-by-case basis and the government cannot provide any assurance that all such requests will be granted.
People who feel they qualify for deferment should not apply until the Dept. of Immigration and Customs Enforcement outlines and announces the procedure in detail in the coming weeks. Early applications will be rejected.
But Cabrera and other advocates say anything short of permanent legal status for that group is not enough. They argue young immigrants who have been in the country most of their lives without permanent residence or citizenship face bleak prospects for finding good jobs. Lacking hope, many drop out of school.
Still, the impact of the Obama administration’s new stance could be significant locally. Up to 1.4 million undocumented immigrants could benefit from scaled-back enforcement, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Mexicans comprise nearly 30 percent of the South Bronx’s Hispanic population, and are the city’s fastest-growing immigrant group, according to the 2010 US Census. Forty-seven percent of Mexicans between 16- and- 19 drop out of high school, more than any other ethnic group in the city, census data show.
The president’s announcement was the latest round in a long-standing battle in Washington over the Dream Act, a law that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented youth originally introduced in Congress in 2001. Over the years, the bill has been revived, reworked and rejected numerous times. In 2010, the House of Representatives passed it, but it died on the Senate floor.
Cabrera and other activists who have fought for passage of the Dream Act refer to themselves as “Dreamers.” Although he is a few credits shy of a Masters in Business Administration from Baruch College, Cabrera is not eligible for the two-year work permit because he is over 30.
Mott Haven resident Rosario Quiroz, 23, who recently graduated from Columbia University, was arrested earlier this year for participating in a sit-in with other activists in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office in Albany, demanding immigration reform.
Quiroz, who is undocumented, is awaiting trial on charges stemming from that arrest. Although she faces possible deportation for her act of defiance, she says such activism helps force policy change.
“This was heavily influenced by the Dreamers. We sat in campaign offices. We wouldn’t leave,” she said.
Congressman Jose Serrano who represents the 16th congressional district, which includes Mott Haven, called the president’s new measure a “huge step towards realistic immigration policy.
“Children who were brought here at a young age bear no blame for the decisions their parents made, and to deport them was unreasonable,” Serrano said. “Now we will see these children able to apply to stay in the country to go to school and work.”
Others, like Quiroz, however, are tired of fighting for fundamental changes they are convinced will never arrive. She says she plans to move back to Mexico, a country she barely knows, in the next few months.
“The United States is no longer part of my dream,” she said. “Why should I continue here if the government doesn’t care about me?”
For others, the changes are welcome, even if overdue.
On 138th Street in Mott Haven, signs of recent Mexican immigration are everywhere, from street vendors and taquerias, to specialty bodegas.
“This is a step forward,” an elderly woman who declined to give her name, said in Spanish, while selling mangos. “My grandson is in college, studying to be a teacher. Now, when he graduates, he can work as one.”
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[…] Mott Haven Herald reported on how President Obama’s new stance on immigration could affect the Latino population of […]
Really good article Giovanny. Very informative and backed up with research.