Every year, 65,000 undocumented youth like this star soccer player graduate from U.S. high schools. Brought to the country as children, and with immigration reform stalled in Washington, they are caught in limbo. Credit: Marcelo Brociner/IPS

By Jane Regan
SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts, May 6 2014 (IPS)

He did everything right. Worked hard. Excelled in school. Captain of his soccer team. He’s been scouted by a half-dozen colleges and universities.

“I had six goals and I had about 28 assists. My team went to the state finals,” the quiet 18-year-old explained.“I wish more people saw what it’s like to see students who have worked so hard… and then slowly they realise that not a lot of doors are open." -- Anne Herzberg

But this star soccer player from Somerville High School isn’t necessarily headed to college. He doesn’t qualify for most grants or loans. He can’t even get the lower “in-state tuition” guaranteed for state residents at public institutions like the University of Massachusetts, a savings of 13,000 dollars per year.

The soccer player is undocumented.

“I’m not going to lie. I go to bed every night thinking about it,” he said. (His identity is being withheld to protect him and his family.)

“Sometimes my mom sees my crying and she asks why, but I don’t like talking about it. I don’t want to hurt my parents who have been working so hard.”

Every year, 65,000 undocumented youth like the soccer player graduate from U.S. high schools. Brought to the country as children, and with immigration reform stalled in Washington, they are caught in limbo.

Probably a dozen and perhaps even several dozen of the seniors at the public high school are undocumented in this city of 77,000, where one-third of the households speak a language other than English at home, and where some two-thirds of the student body is characterised as “minority.”

Because U.S. laws guarantee all children an education and prohibit school officials from asking children about their status, nobody knows exactly how many are undocumented. An estimated 11 million undocumented people currently live in the U.S.

School counselor Anne Herzberg, who helps students with college applications, sees far too many of them come through her doorway.

“One of the hardest things I see every year is kids who have done everything right in high school… [but] because of their status here they are unable to find a place that will accept them and give them the financial support that they need to be able to attend a four-year college,” she told IPS.

A four-year college or university in the U.S. can cost up to 60,000 dollars per year, including room and board, at private institutions. State schools cost about 15,000 to 23,000 dollars, with room and board, if a student qualifies for in-state tuition.

Some undocumented youth have options. Sixteen of the 50 US states offer in-state tuition rates to undocumented residents. But Massachusetts is not one of them.

Another option is the stopgap programme called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA. Instituted in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it gives undocumented young people temporary working papers and the ability to qualify for in-state tuition and a few other programmes.

Youth must have arrived in the U.S. by Jun. 15, 2007, and be under the age of 31 as of Jun. 15, 2012. The fee is 465 dollars, and the DACA card is only good for two years. Renewal costs another 465 dollars.

As of the end of 2013, a total of 610,694 people had received DACA status nationwide, 5,232 in Massachusetts, according to Homeland Security.

“Somerville does have a large number of students that do qualify for DACA,” Herzberg said, noting that she was aware of 10 current students who applied.

But, she added, “It is expensive.“ And, “for the students that I work with, the vast majority actually came after 2007.”

Like the soccer player.

“I arrived in the U.S. on Jan. 27, 2009,” he said. “I was two years late.”

“I wish more people saw what it’s like to see students who have worked so hard… and then slowly they realise that not a lot of doors are open,” Herzberg noted. “As an immigrant myself and as a counselor, it’s hard for me to not to believe in the ‘American dream’ – that students can be here and be successful and work hard and achieve.”

Back in 2001, legislators proposed a stopgap measure: the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act. It was reintroduced in 2009. If passed, DREAM Act beneficiaries would get a shot at legal status if they attended college or served in the armed forces for at least two years. Afterwards, they would have a five-year waiting period before applying for Permanent Residence.

Between 800,000 and two million youth are eligible for the DREAM Act (depending on the calculations), some 27,000 in Massachusetts, according to the Center for American Progress’ count. The think tank calculates that passage of the law would add “$329 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.4 million new jobs by 2030.”

But like other immigration legislation, the DREAM Act is stuck in the legislative deadlock that characterises what is probably the least efficient Congress in history.

Congressman Michael E. Capuano, a Democrat from Massachusetts, supports the DREAM Act “as a bridge to where we really want to be,” which is comprehensive immigration reform.

The congressman, who is of Italian and Irish descent, deplores the fact that so many young people are being held “hostage.”

Congressman Michael E. Capuano (D-MA) points to his Italian grandfather’s U.S. citizenship papers from 1922. His grandfather, who came to the U.S. as an orphan at the age of 18, was 37 years old. Credit: Jane Regan/IPS

“Look, you can make an argument every day of the week about adults who may have come here illegally or usually stayed here illegally. I just don’t think it’s a valid part of the discussion to include children who really didn’t choose their lives,” he said. “They’re pending in limbo and I think… we’re wasting their future. I think it’s a terrible tragedy.”

“Immigrants are here for the same reason my families came here,” Capuano continued. “To make their lives better and to make their children’s’ lives better.”

School counselor Herzberg said she encourages her undocumented students not to give up.

“My advice to undocumented students who want to attend college is: ‘You can attend college and you need to fight for it,’” she said. “’Get involved in different organisations that fight for the rights of immigrants… The more that they do, the more chances that things will change for the better, whereas just sitting back is not going to change minds.”

The soccer player doesn’t know what he is going to do. If he and his family can scrape together the money, he may attend community college. Or he may head back to Brazil.

“I think good things happen to good people and I worked hard for myself, my success and my future,” he said. “I still have hope. Hope is the last thing that dies.”

Additional reporting by high school journalist Marcelo Brociner.

A 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant heading to the U.S. Credit: Wilfredo Díaz/IPS

By Bryant Harris
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 2014 (IPS)

Pro-immigration reform advocates here are seeking to capitalise on new federal momentum on the issue after conservative lawmakers ended months of dithering late last week and released an initial set of principles that they would be interested in pursuing in broader negotiations.

FWD.us, an immigration reform advocacy group funded by the technology industry, declared Monday a “day of action”, in which it encouraged the U.S. public to contact key Republican representatives and ask them to support immigration reform proposals. “Until we create a functioning immigration system with a pathway to citizenship, ruthless employers will continue to exploit low wage workers, pulling down wages for all." -- Richard Trumka

With 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., exploitation of undocumented workers runs rampant, and families have been torn apart with two million deportations by the Barack Obama administration within the past five years.

Faith-based advocacy groups, one of the conservative cornerstones pushing for immigration reform, have likewise stepped up their efforts. Evangelical Christians emphasise the damaging effect that current immigration laws have on undocumented families.

“More than security and economic reasons, I think [reform] needed for the health of families,” Alex Cosio, a pastor from North Carolina, said during a press call Monday. “Families suffer a lot when they fear someone from their family being caught and deported. [Deportation] tears families apart.”

Cosio also points to the adverse effects that the current immigration system has on undocumented youths who were brought to the United States at a very young age.

“It’s very hard for a parent to tell a kid that they can’t have a driver’s license because they’re not here legally,” he said.

The new Republican guidelines call for increased border security and a “zero tolerance” policy for migrants who have illegally crossed into the United States.

While the guidelines rule out a path to citizenship, a means by which undocumented workers could become fully naturalised U.S. citizens, they permit legalisation for law-abiding undocumented workers provided that they “pay significant fines and back taxes, develop proficiency in English and American civics, and be able to support themselves and their families (without access to public benefits).”

Cautious optimism

Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a massive bill to overhaul all aspects of the country’s immigration system. That proposal would have provided a path to citizenship for many of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, yet House Republicans oppose it on the grounds that a path to citizenship amounted to “amnesty” for wrongdoing – an option they have long opposed.

This proposal has since languished as conservatives in the House of Representatives have been unable to decide how – or whether – they wanted to progress on the issue.

Unlike their counterparts in the Senate, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have now indicated that they do not wish to address the issue of immigration in a single, comprehensive bill. Instead they prefer to address various issues related to the broad topic through piecemeal legislation, potentially setting up conflict later on.

Still, the fact that House Republicans are now actively discussing the issue has given many proponents of immigration reform a renewed sense of optimism. Indeed, on some issues, the new Republican principles offer clear-cut ideological about-faces.

The new principles support, for instance, a path to legal residence and citizenship for undocumented youth who receive a college degree or serve in the military. This would closely align with provisions laid out in the earlier Democratic-proposed legislation – known as the DREAM Act – that some Republican legislators opposed.

Congress’s failed attempts to pass the DREAM Act multiple times since 2001 prompted President Obama to issue an executive order that halted the deportation of undocumented youths who met certain requirements.

“I do think that for those who qualify under laws and rules laid out for DREAM students, we can be assured that they’ll become a great asset to our nation,” Noel Castellanos, the head of the Christian Community Development Association, a faith-based community development group, told IPS. “Not every one of these young people will end up going to school, but some will serve in our military and contribute great works to serve our country.”

In addition to the Christian right, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby group, welcomed the Republican reform principles.

“Immigration reform is an essential element of economic growth and it will create American jobs,” Thomas J. Donahue, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “The time is now, and the Chamber is determined to make 2014 the year that immigration reform is finally enacted.”

Liberal ambivalence

While conservative advocacy groups warmly embraced the Republican guidelines, some liberal advocates have been less thrilled.

America’s Voice, a Washington-based immigrant advocacy group, is pointing out that Republicans are insisting on strengthening security along the U.S.-Mexico border before allowing any legalisation for undocumented migrants to go forward.

Such a stance, the group warns, obscures the fact that spending on border security is already incredibly high.

“The U.S. government spends 18 billion dollars a year on immigration enforcement, more than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined,” the group states in analysis sent to IPS. “The Border Patrol has doubled in recent years to a record high of 21,000 agents, and net unauthorised immigration into the U.S. is zero.”

“Nevertheless, Republicans are dusting off the old ‘enforcement-first’ talking points, pretending that immigration enforcement is currently lacking,” the groups says.

Labour rights advocates have also condemned House Republicans’ refusal to create a valid path to citizenship on the grounds that it will depress wages for everyone residing in the United States.

“Until we create a functioning immigration system with a pathway to citizenship, ruthless employers will continue to exploit low wage workers, pulling down wages for all,” Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, a lobbying group representing multiple labour unions, noted Monday.

“All workers, immigrant or not, will see workplaces become safer and wages grow higher when we create a real roadmap to citizenship. And yet Republicans not only reject citizenship but embrace a broken guest worker model that will bring down wages and increase income inequality.”

It is unclear exactly how, or even if, the congressional discussion will now progress, with Republicans still unsure as to whether they will unite behind the new principles.

On Sunday, Representative Paul Ryan, a leading intellectual in the Republican party, told the media it was “clearly in doubt” whether Congress would pass any immigration reform legislation this year. National elections, after all, are scheduled for late this year, and immigration remains a hot-button issue for many in the Republican base.

Still, others see a possible window for action after Republican candidates have been chosen for the election in primary campaigns.

President Barack Obama’s administration announced on Friday that the United States would no longer deport certain young immigrants.

While the move, made by executive order, was hailed by immigration advocates as a small but positive first step, many others pointed to the political motivations in play – an issue that President Obama implicitly acknowledged on Friday.

Undocumented immigrants who come to the U.S. as children and are deemed to pose no security risk will no longer be under threat of deportation. Credit: Stephen C. Webster/CC By 2.0

“As long as I’m president, I will not give up on this issue,” Obama said, “not only because it’s the right thing to do for our economy – and CEOs agree with me – not just because it’s the right thing to do for our security, but because it’s the right thing to do, period.

“And I believe that, eventually, enough Republicans in Congress will come around to that view as well.”

Reversing previous policy, undocumented immigrants who come to the United States as children and are deemed to pose no security risk will no longer be under threat of deportation. Instead, the administration ordered that the government begin to make available work permits for those who qualify.

A few other prerequisites also apply: The candidates must have come to the U.S. before they turned 16, must be in school or have graduated from high school (or have been honourably discharged from the U.S. military), and have a relatively clean criminal record.

The changes are to take effect immediately, largely skirting immigration legislation known as the DREAM Act. That bill would offer a route to citizenship for certain young immigrants, but has languished in Congress for years.

Following Friday’s announcement, the National Immigration Law Center here in Washington called the day “momentous … a hard-won victory”. The non-partisan Migration Policy Institute said that the policy reversal could have a direct impact on 1.4 million youths, while cautioning that implementation would be tricky with a programme of this size.

At Lafayette Park outside of the White House, a crowd of jubilant supporters cheered the news, holding up signs that read “Keep the DREAM alive” and “You have my vote now.”

“This is a matter of human rights,” Sebastian Roa, a student at the University of Maryland at the rally, told IPS. “I was undocumented for 13 years, and I always had to wonder what would happen to me.”

“It’s a Hispanic issue but it’s also an overarching issue for many races,” he continued.

Another at the rally, Deepak Bhargava, a community organiser, called the news a “big victory”, but cautioned that it was “not the final step”.

“The biggest challenge is to get people to vote in November,” he said. “Alienating Latinos now, is a recipe to becoming a minority party in the future.”

Political gambit

Indeed, despite the accolades, it is hard to see the timing of the issue outside of its political context.

The move comes as the 2012 presidential race heats up, with immigration receiving vastly increased attention from both of the frontrunners. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate to oppose Obama, has in the past stated that he would veto the DREAM Act if he were to become president.

Romney is also fighting the president for the Latino vote. According to the Washington Post, Romney told supporters in April, “We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party” or they would lose the election.

President Obama, while keen to take credit for Friday’s announcement, has suffered severe criticism over the past three and a half years of his presidency for failing to push through a significant immigration overhaul, despite repeated promises.

When Obama took on health-care reform as a signature issue shortly after becoming president, many suggested that immigration would be next on the agenda.

As the health-care issue led to massive resentment from Republicans, however, the resulting ratcheted-up polarisation in Washington took away much of President Obama’s motivation – and political capital – to tackle another contentious issue so quickly.

Since then, the administration has been unable to deliver for those calling for immigration reform.

Meanwhile, the strength of the Latino vote has been growing. This is based in part on demographics, with an estimated 50,000 Latinos every month turning 18, the legal age to vote in the United States.

Some experts have suggested that whoever wins the presidency in November will need around 40 percent of the country’s 14 million Latinos to do so. A recent analysis put out by the Brooking Institution suggested that the broader minority vote would be even more important for an Obama victory this year than last time around.

In addition, however, reports suggest a higher political consciousness among Latino, particularly youths – spurred in particular by the country’s nasty immigration debate in recent years.

This week, Jeb Bush, the popular former governor of Florida and brother of former president George W. Bush, made political waves when he suggested that the Republican Party needed to change its tone on immigration.

On Friday, another Florida Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, thought to be a frontrunner to become Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential candidate, criticised Obama’s move for its unilateral legislation.

“Today’s announcement will be welcome news for many of these kids desperate for an answer, but it is a short-term answer to a long-term problem,” Rubio said. “And by once again ignoring the Constitution and going around Congress, this short-term policy will make it harder to find a balanced and responsible long-term one.”

Another Republican member of Congress, Steve King, went even further, saying that he plans to sue the Obama administration over the new policy.

King charged President Obama with “planning to usurp the constitutional authority of the United States Congress and grant amnesty by edict to one million illegal aliens”.