On Nov. 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions that would affect undocumented immigrants in the United States. The new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program garnered the most attention.
DACA aims to protect children who entered the U.S. before the age of 16 and who have lived in the country continuously since at least Jan. 1, 2010. Likewise, DAPA protects the parents of children who are citizens or lawful permanent residents. These programs are not intended as fast tracks to citizenship, though; qualified individuals must reapply every three years.
It’s been a year since President Obama’s announcement, and it seems there has not been much progress in moving forward with these plans.
Shortly after Obama’s announcement, several states took legal action to counteract these measures. A Texas federal judge blocked the measures, arguing that since some details were not published in the Federal Register, there was no allowance for public comments. Meanwhile, similar actions taken by other states and lower courts, similar to that of Texas, prompted the Obama Administration to appeal to the Supreme Court in November 2015.
As a result, many of the related programs haven’t been enacted or expanded, which may raise the possibility of deportation for many.
Since Obama’s initial announcement, the conversation regarding undocumented immigration has become more hostile among certain pockets of the population. As presidential hopeful Donald Trump gains support with his anti-immigrant language, many pro-reform activists now stress the urgency of voter registration and participation.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court review could be delayed until after President Obama leaves the White House. To keep reform moving in the meantime, immigration supporters and activists are working to gather support and register voters, encouraging them to vote in the upcoming primary elections., Activists are relying on a heavy turnout of immigrant voters in both the primaries and the general election to elect pro-reform candidates
Whether these actions take effect while President Obama is in office or after his presidency, activists and supporters will keep pushing for reform on all levels. Even so, we know that comprehensive immigration reform would ultimately resolve the shortcomings posed by smaller reforms like DAPA and DACA. Given the current political environment, the earliest that could happen is 2017 after the Presidential election.
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