DREAM Act is Still Stalled, Despite Partial Implementation
Sep 19, 2012
Miami, FL (Law Firm Newswire) September 18, 2012 – Dreamers across the country cheered loudly when Obama announced a partial implementation of the DREAM Act. However, it is still in stall mode.
“It’s nice that Obama went ahead and announced a partial implementation of the DREAM Act, just in time for the election, with the not-so-subtle intent of garnering Latin votes. However, the partial implementation does nothing for the Act as a whole. It is still in stall mode,” says Larry S. Rifkin, a Miami immigration lawyer and managing partner at Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, with law offices in Miami, Florida and Orlando, Florida. “Not only that, we still don’t know what the Department of Homeland Security is going to come up with in terms of details.”
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act has been virtually dead in the water since December 2010. This partial implementation is just that, a “partial” implementation, meaning it addresses very little other than sending many undocumented young veterans and students to the end of the deportation line.
These individuals are low priority now and have the opportunity to apply for a temporary, renewable, two-year work authorization, provided they meet some rather ill-defined requirements. “It is important to understand that a temporary work permit does not citizenship make. And it is in no way a long-term fix for the ailing, ancient, badly broken immigration system,” suggested Rifkin.
In the meantime, no one should forget that last year, Obama shrugged off calls to move ahead with immigration reform on his own initiative and bypass Congress. He indicated that is not how the system worked, and yet, he bypassed the system with his partial implementation announcement.
This new policy should assist approximately 1.4 million illegal youth to get jobs and start contributing to their communities, “which begs the question, since the economy has been a touchy issue for so long, why wasn’t a policy of this nature implemented before now? It would have helped to boost the economy,” Rifkin added, “instead of implementing a policy that will cost the government $585 million to process the deferred action applications.”
Better late than never? Only time will tell.
To learn more or to contact an Orlando immigration attorney or Miami immigration attorney, visit http://www.rifkinfox.com.
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