Attendees listen as Carolina Zaragoza Flores, the Mexican consul in San Bernardino, speaks during a July 14 forum in Perris on the new immigration policy. ANDREW FOULK/Special to The Press-EnterpriseUp to 1.7 million young undocumented immigrants nationwide could qualify for legal temporary residency under a new Obama administration program.
That’s the finding of a Pew Hispanic Center analysis released Tuesday, a day before the new policy aimed at undocumented immigrants aged 15 to 30 goes into effect and applicants can begin sending in forms.
Another analysis, by the Immigration Policy Center, estimates the number of potential beneficiaries of the policy by congressional district.
Inland Rep. Joe Baca’s (D-Rialto) 43rd district ranked sixth among California’s 53 congressional districts in people who might qualify now or, for those aged 5 to 14, in the future. Nearly 12,500 may qualify in Baca’s district, which includes all or part of San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Bloomington and Ontario.
Nearly 10,000 could qualify in Rep. Mary Bono Mack’s (R-Palm Springs) district, and more than 9,000 may be eligible in Rep. Ken Calvert’s (R-Corona) district, the analysis found.
The large majority of potentially eligible people in all three districts are from Mexico.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today released forms and instructions for young undocumented immigrants applying for what is called “deferred action,” because it defers deportation for at least two years.
The Pew estimate rose today by more than 300,000 over a previous approximation as the specifics of who is eligible under the policy became clear this month.
President Obama announced the executive action on June 15 but some details were ironed out over the past two months.
Those eligible under the policy must be 30 or younger, have arrived in the United States before age 16, have lived continuously in this country for at least five years and are either in school or possess a high school diploma or GED. Current and former members of the military are also eligible. Applicants cannot have felony or certain misdemeanor convictions.
The deferral of deportation will be renewable every two years, upon review, although a future president could overturn Obama’s executive action. Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has declined to say if he would do so. Some applicants will also qualify for work permits.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, so applicants need to read USCIS materials thoroughly. For example, the policy is generally for those aged 15 to 30, but those under 15 in deportation proceedings may also be eligible.
And it’s not always immediately clear what a “significant misdemeanor” is.
Several Inland workshops and forums are planned for the next few weeks to explain the details of the policy and help applicants fill out the forms.
TODEC Legal Center, 234 South D St., Perris, is holding a workshop at 1 p.m. Wednesday that will take applicants step-by-step through the process.
The group is holding another workshop on Aug. 25. A similar workshop is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Riverside County library in Home Gardens and at 9 a.m. at University Lecture Hall 1000 at UC Riverside. Other forums are also planned
Source http://blog.pe.com
No comments:
Post a Comment