will stop deporting some illegal immigrants who came here as children
President Obama said Friday his administration would stop deporting some illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children and have gone on to be productive and otherwise law abiding residents, forcing the emotional immigration policy debate into the forefront of the presidential campaign.
Obama described his decision as the “right thing to do for the American people,” but many Democrats and immigration advocates also saw it as the right strategic move to boost his reelection chances.
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But the shift also carried some danger for the president, who risks alienating centrist swing voters who tend to be more conservative on immigration issues and could see the move as politically opportunistic.
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One Republican, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, said he planned to sue canadian goose jacket to block the president’s policy.
Canada Goose sale The Canada Goose Jackets announcement followed a years long dispute between the president and immigration advocates, who had warned in a series of private encounters that he would lose credibility with Hispanic voters if he did not use his power to help a group of young people that had become the most visible and sympathetic target of his canada goose clearance administration’s aggressive deportation policies. Canada Goose sale
But the White House began to feel more pressure from Canada Goose Parka advocates this spring when a prominent Hispanic Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, began working canada goose store with activists on a scaled back version of the bill.
On Friday, Obama seemed to find a middle ground, granting a two year reprieve from deportation for certain eligible immigrants but not granting them legal status.
“These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag,” Obama said during an afternoon Rose Garden appearance. “They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper.”
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canada goose clearance Romney’s tightrope walk was further evident when he cheap Canada Goose said that he agreed with a statement issued Friday by Rubio gently criticizing the Obama policy, only to be followed later by aides clarifying that Romney was not endorsing Rubio’s potential legislation. canada goose clearance
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Eligible immigrants will now receive “deferred action,” which essentially means a two year reprieve from deportation along with the chance to apply for a work permit. The decisions will be made on buy canada goose jacket a case by case basis, and officials said Friday that not everyone granted the reprieve will immediately gain the right to work.
canada goose The deferral will be available to immigrants who can prove that they came to the United States when they were younger than 16, have lived in the country continuously for at least five years and are currently in the country. They must be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or be honorably discharged veterans of the military or the Coast Guard. canada goose
They also must not be older than 30 and must never have been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, multiple misdemeanor offenses or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public canada goose deals safety.
The change was not imposed by executive order. Instead, it effectively extends an existing policy of “prosecutorial discretion,” buy canada goose jacket cheap in which immigration officials last year were instructed to prioritize the removal of felons, repeat border crossers and others considered to be security risks. Officials said the government would continue its aggressive enforcement policies but with greater care not to remove young people who came as children.
The administration announced the new policy a week before Obama was scheduled to address the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials’ annual conference near Orlando. Romney is scheduled to speak to the group Thursday, as are Rubio and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a Dream Act supporter who has also urged the GOP to canada goose coats on sale soften its rhetoric on immigration. It also comes in advance of a Supreme Court ruling on the controversial Arizona immigration law.
uk canada goose outlet Arturo Vargas, executive director of the NALEO group, said Friday he was unsure whether the policy would have the effect that advocates had hoped for, noting that immigrants would have to step forward to apply with no guarantee of success. uk canada goose outlet
canadian goose jacket “People are getting more excited than what really is there,” Vargas said. canadian goose jacket
buy canada goose jacket Still, the response Friday was overwhelmingly positive from immigration advocates, particularly those who had personally sparred Canada Goose sale with Obama over the past two years. buy canada goose jacket
Canada Goose Parka “If what we heard [Friday] is exactly what happens, it was about time,” said Angelica Salas, a Los Angeles based activist who first confronted Obama about the deportations during a March 2010 meeting in the Roosevelt Room. Canada Goose Parka
canada goose coats Obama is “putting his political power behind this,” said Gaby Pacheco, 27, an activist who came to the United States from Ecuador when she was 7 and went on to graduate from college and prepare for a career in teaching. “We’re close to an election, and so I don’t think that they’re going to mess this up.” canada goose coats
Pacheco, who had been working with Rubio on his legislation, said she planned on applying for the “deferred action” reprieve. She hoped the policy would pressure Congress to act.