President Obama may be many things, but timid is not one of them.
On Friday, the president took a bold and risky step to allow young, undocumented immigrants, known as “DREAMers” (after the DREAM ACT), to remain in the United States without deportation.
Originally brought here by their parents while they were infants, these DREAMers only know the United States as their home. They’ve earned degrees in this country, have worked and lived productive lives in this country. Mr. Obama decided it was time to stop punishing DREAMers by deporting them to countries they never knew, so he took the necessary steps to change their fate.
The White House issued the following statement on the president’s decision:
Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to ensure that young, undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children by their parents, and who have followed the law since then, will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings — and will be allowed to apply for authorization to work in this country.
They’re a group that we’ve come to call the “Dreamers” — and today, the country they love is telling them they should be able to dream as big as they want.
For years, the President has called on Congress to make common-sense fixes to our broken immigration system. They haven’t. So he did!
Conservative leaning states like Arizona and Mississippi have existing laws in place that will hunt down, profile and immediately deport any undocumented immigrants. Now, Republicans are crying foul and calling Mr. Obama’s move a cheap political ploy.
Recent polls show President Obama and his presumed Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, in a dead heat for the presidency. These polls also show the race could be decided by the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida — all heavily populated Hispanic states.
By the president’s executive order, young people will now be eligible for protection under the DREAM Act to receive work permits and protection from deportation for 2 years, with the possibility of renewal. For all those undocumented young people trapped in legal limbo in the country they’ve grown up in, Mr. Obama’s order will be life-changing — and possibly transformative for the 2012 election.
Will President Obama’s support of the “DREAMers” be an advantageous feather in his cap come election time, or will it backfire on him miserably?
