“On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez shot down the federal government’s efforts to strip Daniel Ramirez Medina of his DACA status. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had arrested and detained Ramirez last year, then falsely claimed that he was affiliated with a gang and attempted to deport him. He filed suit, alleging that ICE had violated his due process rights. Martinez agreed. His order barred the federal government from voiding Ramirez’s DACA status, safeguarding his ability to live and work in the United States legally for the foreseeable future. What may be most remarkable about Martinez’s decision, though, is its blunt repudiation of ICE’s main claim—that Ramirez is “gang-affiliated.” The judge did not simply rule against ICE. He accused the agency of lying to a court of law.”
A common refrain among the right, but an entirely misguided one.
First, most undocumented migrants do not have a line to get into. There are four ways in which someone can become a Permanent Resident: Employer-based immigration, Family-based immigration, Humanitarian protection, and a limited-lottery.
Employer-based immigration
To come to the United States for employment purposes—either temporarily or permanently—foreign workers must generally have a job lined up with an eligible employer who will sponsor them. An employer can request permission to bring in specific qualified foreign workers, but only if they meet the requirements, such as job skills and education level, and if the employer cannot find a qualified U.S. worker to take the job first. Most of the qualifying professions for permanent immigration require high levels of education and professional experience, such as scientists, professors, and multinational executives. There is a limited number of temporary visas for highly skilled or internationally recognized workers. There are also temporary, seasonal opportunities for agricultural workers and certain other “less skilled” workers. In most of these cases, an employer must petition for the worker.
Family-based immigration
Qualified family members in the United States can seek permission to bring in certain eligible foreign-born family members. U.S. citizens can petition for their spouses, parents, children, and siblings. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs, or “green card” holders) can petition for their spouses and unmarried children. There are always visas available for the spouses, parents, and minor children of U.S. citizens, but for all other family categories, there are annual numerical limits. In all cases, the petitioning family member in the United States must demonstrate an income level above the poverty line and must commit to supporting the family member they are seeking to bring to the United States. The foreign-born persons wishing to immigrate must meet eligibility requirements as well.
Humanitarian protection
Each year the United States sets a numerical limit on how many refugees will be admitted for humanitarian reasons. To be admitted as refugees, individuals must be screened by multiple international and U.S. agencies and prove that they have a “well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, or national origin.” Asylum seekers are individuals already in the United States who fear to return to their home countries, and they must prove they meet the definition of a refugee. An immigrant does not qualify as a refugee or an asylee because of poverty or difficult economic conditions in their home country. There are limited forms of temporary humanitarian protection available, but these are rare.
Limited-lottery
If a person who wishes to immigrate to the United States does not qualify for the family, employment, or humanitarian systems, there may be one more legal path. The annual Diversity Visa program makes 55,000 green cards available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. People from Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, and other countries with higher levels of immigration to the United States are not eligible. To qualify, applicants must have a high school education and two years of job experience. Since millions of people around the world apply each year, the chances of obtaining a visa through the lottery are extremely low.
To top it off, if you are discovered to have lived here without proper documentation the punishment is deportation and not being able to apply for any form of entry to the US for a Decade.
This makes it very difficult to apply while you are living here without documentation since you need an address by which to apply. By filling out the application, you admit you are living here and will likely end up with ICE at your door. An even if you get into one of the lines, there are limited spots open for each one and could end up waiting to have a legal status for well over a decade.
And that is why undocumented migrants cannot just apply for legal residency, which they need to have for five years in order to get citizenship.
When my coworker was kidnapped by ICE she had been waiting over 13 years to hear back from an application she had put in.
This post is missing the most troubling and insurmountable setback for undocumented immigrants which is that in most cases you cannot adjust status from within the United States if you don’t already have a status. There are very very few avenues by which you can adjust status if you have been living in the US undocumented which include a few humanitarian visas and (in limited circumstances) marriage to a US citizen.
So why is adjusting from within the US so crucial? Because, as mentioned above, living in the US as an adult without proper documentation for over 6-months triggers something called the “bar” which is a ban from re-entering the country which ranges from 3 years to a lifetime.
So even if a DREAMer has their US citizen sibling or parent apply to sponsor them and they wait 15 years for their priority date to become current and apply for their green card they won’t be able to adjust status without leaving the United States and may then be subjected to a 10 year or permanent ban.
There is rarely ANY path to citizenship for DREAMers through no fault of their own. Many DREAMers don’t even know they’re undocumented until they try to apply for a job or college.
And the parents of Dreamers aren’t them either. Whatever your basic stance on immigration is (although let’s be honest, our immigration laws have been historically pretty damn racist) you have to admit that people who were damn near literally carried across the border as infants and toddlers and have spent every moment they can remember thinking of themselves as Americans are not “walking across the border and demanding free stuff.” They should not be penalized by exile from the only country they’ve ever known for something their parents did. And if you think otherwise, you should imagine yourself in their place and try to find a little empathy and compassion.
There’s a lot of shit wrong but here are some of the reasons:
Jeff Sessions isn’t the president, and he’s not the head of the Department of Homeland Security. The president is the one making this decision, and immigration is under DHS’s jurisdiction. This is like your boss deciding to change something in the HR department, but the head of accounting is the one who announces it. It’s not impossible but it’s weird as hell.
Jeff Sessions straight-up lied about what DACA is, how it works, and who it helps.
“It granted legal status” no it didn’t you vindictive woodland sprite. DACA recipients never had legal status. They were definitely still at risk of deportation. The Obama Administration wasn’t like “here’s your shiny new green card,” it was more like “we see that you don’t have legal status but we’re choosing not to prosecute.”
“it was too broad” it was limited to people who came before the age of sixteen, before june 2007, had no felonies or more than two misdemeanors on their record, and had graduated from high school, gotten a GED, or been dishonorably discharged from the military. high school dropout? not eligible for DACA. have a criminal record? not eligible for DACA. came as a child but after june 2007? not eligible for DACA. THAT’S NOT FUCKING BROAD.
“it allowed people with criminal records to join” fun fact, having two or more misdemeanors is enough to bar you from entering the US or getting deported once you’re here. that’s not something new Obama made up.
“we were worried that a court case might find it unconstitutional” then why let it play out for another six months? you don’t slowly phase out an unconstitutional thing. why not just let the case progress and let the supreme court decide? or were you worried they might find in favor of DACA?
basically fuck this administration and every horse it has ever ridden on
You’ve probably heard by now that President Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions have decided to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Originally created by President Obama, the program provided hope and protection to nearly a million children of undocumented immigrants, many of whom have growing up knowing no other nation besides the United States of America.
In their hearts, in their lives, DREAMers are Americans. And they are human beings. The cruelty of deporting them to an unfamiliar land is matched only by the recklessness of doing so. Immigration is vital to our identity, our economy, and our culture. To extinguish the dreams of DREAMers is not only unkind, but fundamentally un-American.
So, Tumblr, here are some ways you can help each other out:
Call Congress and tell them to pass the DREAM Act. There’s a six-month delay before Trump’s order kicks in, and that’s six months for Congress to get their act together on this. Light a fire under them, will you?
Don’t forget to take care of yourself, especially if you’re one of the people directly affected by this. You can’t just fight—you also have to heal.
Tell your story. Tag it #DREAMer. Let people know what you’ve experienced, and let other DREAMers know they’re not alone.
And if you could use some perspective on what it’s like for a DREAMer right now, please read this Answer Time session with an undocumented immigrant who took your questions on her situation, her hopes, and her fears. It’ll open your eyes, it’ll open your heart. It’s what the world needs right now.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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