In the wake of a federal injunction temporarily halting
President Obama’s recent immigration executive actions on deportation relief
for millions of immigrants, advocates say their big concern is not the legal
battle ahead but the confusion and inaction that might result among immigrant
families even if the Obama administration ultimately prevails.
“We’re telling them to keep gathering documents together and
saving money for the fees,” Perla Hinojosa, area coordinator with Mi Familia
Vota said Tuesday at a rally in downtown Tampa held with other community
groups.
The rally and information sessions slated for later in the evening were among more than 70 nationwide events previously planned by immigrant advocates to help prepare millions of unauthorized immigrants to register for the programs, which are now on hold.
That includes one program that was scheduled to open to applications
on Wednesday among hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants over the
age of 30 who were brought to the country as children or teenagers. Another was
set to open later in the spring for almost 4 million unauthorized immigrants
who are parents of citizens or permanent residents.
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While Republicans touted the injunction as a victory,
immigrant advocates said they are confident that the Obama administration will ultimately
win on the legal front. However, they worry about the lasting impact of news
coverage about the injunction and possible confusion it might create among immigrant
families possibly eligible for the programs.
The programs’ success depends not just on a court victory,
but also upon families later applying for them, advocates say. They are encouraging
families to continue gathering required documents for the expected
applications, and to save money for the $465 fee.
“The injunction from the judge doesn't stop the work we need
to do in the community,” Nanci Palacios, a lead community organizer with Faith
in Florida, said at the Tampa rally.
Her parents, both unauthorized immigrants originally from
Mexico, had planned to apply for the program in the spring because her 13-year-old
brother was born in the United States and is a citizen. Palacios, 26, and her
two sisters received work permits and protection from deportation under the
original 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA – which is
not impacted by Monday’s injunction.
Palacios, who travels as an immigration community organizer,
worries whenever she is away from home if she will return to find that her
parents have been deported.
“Every time I leave, especially if I am out of state, I have
that fear,” she said.
Palacios said the deferred action programs, though a
temporary fix in the larger question of immigration reform, were a victory for
immigrant families and advocates, who will be working harder on information
campaigns as the legal maneuvering continues over the injunction and court
challenge.
“We’re not going to let it stop us,” she said.
Vox.com and other outlets summarized the implications of the
injunction late Monday night by a federal district judge in Texas.
1.
Federal judge Andrew
Hanen just ruled that the Obama administration has to temporarily halt
implementation of its executive actions on immigration.
2.
The ruling comes right
before the administration was going to open up applications for immigrants
older than 30 who came to the US as children to apply for protection from
deportation and work permits. It also affects a program that was supposed to
open later this spring, for parents of US citizens and permanent residents.
3.
The injunction means
Hanen thinks there's a substantial chance that he's going to ultimately rule
that the executive actions were made illegally, siding with the 26 states that
have sued the administration.
4.
The Obama administration
is expected to file to keep the injunction itself from going into effect; the
Fifth Circuit will take up the question in a few weeks.
Here is the full story: http://www.vox.com/2015/2/16/8025691/immigration-lawsuit-obama
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