1. Obama's "deferred action"
What does this actually mean and what changes are being made? The US has always had this to an extent, but only for people with certain circumstances (which still holds true, but they have been changed). According to this new declaration, one can earn a two year work permit (NOT citizenship) if they:
-came here before 16 years old, have been here at least 5 years and are now younger than 30
-have a clean record with no felonies or misdemeanors
-have proof that they were here in the US on June 15, 2012
-can show that they are either currently enrolled in secondary school in US, have a GED or have received honorable discharge from the US military
While this is quite the list of qualifications, it is estimated that it actually may cover about 1.4 million people in the US. Sadly, none of the usual guys who come to the CLRC are covered by this, mostly because of coming over after they were 16 or now being over 30. I've seen mixed reactions over the past few days. Some are really excited just to see changes in US politics that show legislative support towards immigrants. Others (very few and only found this on the street corners this morning) are more forceful, claiming that they should get the same rights as everyone else. Today we actually had two recent grads come in to register at the center who most likely will qualify, which was really exciting to witness as we talked to them about it, ensuring that they did indeed pass each qualification. One guy actually graduated high school on June 15, 2012, which is the date that they need to show proof of being in the states - what better way to do it than to show their HS diploma?!
We also were advised to warn people both in the center and on the streets that there may be notaries who try to take advantage of them, falsely telling the guys that they qualify even if they don't and charging them a great deal of money, leading the individual to believe that they will get a worker's permit or even citizenship (which is not the case). Notaries have a higher status than lawyers in many Latin American countries, so it was something to stress even more so with these untrustworthy notaries that take money-promising papers and don't deliver.
2. Supreme Court ruling
While the majority of Arizona's immigration laws were not upheld by the Supreme Court, one indeed will remain, which is that police should/can determine someone's immigration status when lawfully stopped or arrested if the police officer has reason to believe they are not legally in the US-which is still highly controversial & left open for potential change in the future. Good news! Other provisions were shut down, including one that stated it is legal for individuals without documents to look for a job. In the end, the SC ruled that Arizona can't have policies that go against federal law. What does this mean for us in Virginia? Well, it is setting a precedent for more immigration debate to come, which has indeed already arrived in this area. The main issue at hand is what role should or can local law enforcement take with regard to immigration enforcement. It could become very much applicable to Centreville & the CLRC with the loitering out at the shopping center and the potential police enforcement to come in the near future.
In other news, Jerry started to teach me to drive stick today!! More to come...
To end, some pictures of my whirlwind of a weekend back in upstate New York:
I went to visit my friends Josh & Chris at Josh's charming family farm!
Bridal shower for Liz - us four sisters to be :)
Little Linny graduated high school!
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