What Does Obama’s Executive Action On Immigration Do?
President Obama describes his executive action as “new steps to fix our broken immigration system”, but what does it actually do?
It’s estimated that there are 11.5 – 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and as President Obama noted in his speech, these people do not pay U.S. taxes and therefore, do not contribute to the economy. In fact, they actually have a negative affect of the U.S. economy as they often accept lower-than-average wages, which creates unfair competition in the business world and often drives legitimate organizations out of business.
As President Obama put it, these undocumented immigrants are “reaping the rewards of living in America (i.e. the fruitful economy), without taking on the responsibilities of living in America (i.e. paying tax)”.
The problem is that many of these millions of undocumented immigrants are too scared to come forward for fear of deportation and fear of being forced apart from their loved ones, meaning that the current “system” prevents them from becoming law-abiding, tax-paying U.S. citizens.
The executive action aims to address this problem and make it easier for these undocumented immigrants to “come out of the shadows” and start “playing by the rules”.
It effectively resets the priorities for deportation for undocumented migrants living in the U.S. It puts the priority on those who pose a threat to national security (e.g. gang members, convicted felons) rather than those who have never been convicted of a serious offence.
It extends deferred action for those who arrived in the U.S. as children those who are parents of U.S. citizens or lawful residents. It also presents positive benefits for highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs looking to stay in the U.S.
Further details are available on the Official White House website and the DHS website.
Get Started Today For Free!
Wites t Law and our team of immigration lawyers have been working around the clock to prepare for the launch of Obama’s executive action on immigration. Once enacted the window to apply could be short if congress moves to try to block it or the program is blocked by lawsuits in the court system, similar to what we saw with gay marriage in some states.
We have put together a FREE, no obligation, program where we will help you now, without charge, to collect and verify all your information paperwork. Once the government releases more information about Obama’s executive order goes into effect, and we determine the amount of attorney’s fees to charge for our services, we will let you know the amount of our fees. If you choose to hire us, we will proceed with your application. In other words, you only pay us if you choose to hire us to represent you in the immigration process. So, there is no risk to you.
Through our no risk, FREE program, we will be better prepared to submit your application once the executive order is enacted and the government starts accepting applications. This should result in you obtaining legal status as quickly as possible.
