Split Supreme Court decision deters President Obama’s immigration plan

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court made a tie 4-4 decision on blocking Obama’s immigration plan, which would have protected millions of immigrants from deportation. President Obama described the decision that left many undocumented families in fear as, “heartbreaking.’

Back in November 2014, President Obama announced three key programs that would have benefited an estimated 4.4 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States: the Deferred Action for Parent Accountability (DAPA), the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA), and New language for provisional waivers (I-601) programs.

The DAPA program allows for certain parents to apply for and be granted Deferred Action – as long as they meet some criteria requirements:

• Must be the parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident child on November 20, 2014

• Must have continuously resided in the U.S. since January 1, 2010 to the present,

• And they must have not been convicted of a felony

A grant of deferred action under DAPA means that, for a period of three years, you no longer have to worry about deportation. It also grants work authorization in the U.S.

The DACA program allows children, who arrived to the United States prior to turning 16 years old, would no longer be a priority for deportation. But, they must also meet some basic requirements such as living in the United States for five years since June 2007, have graduated from high school or completed an accredited GED program, and do not have any felonies.

The new language for provisional waivers (1-601) would have allowed individuals with approved family petitions to qualify for waivers so they could adjust their status in the U.S.

However, with the tie vote, there leaves little to no hope for families who were anxiously waiting for a victory in their favor – especially college students who qualified under the DACA program and families who qualified under the DAPA program.

Alonzo Guerrera, a  Murry Bergtraum High School graduate who emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. when he was 10 years old, said he met the criteria requirements and was hoping to celebrate with a victory with his parents. However, him and his parents were left in tears.

“I don’t necessarily feel afraid. I am an immigrant and I will always be proud to say that with my chin up. But I do feel as if the Supreme Court took this matter lightly and now I’m not sure what to expect this upcoming year with a new president. All I know is that immigrants get the job done and we aren’t going to stop fighting now or ever.”

Guerrera will be heading to study Finance at Baruch College this Fall 2016.

Former college student at Syracuse University, who asked to remain anonymous said  this may not be the worst thing for undocumented families at the moment. The student and family also qualified under the DACA and DAPA program. However the student shared that this decision may help increase mobilization between communities, especially the Latino community, to go out and vote for Hillary Clinton – the supporter for immigration reform.

“Yeah, the decision wasn’t in our favor, but we now have another shot at immigration reform if we go out and make our voices heard. That’s the key to immigration reform.”

President Obama reassured undocumented immigrants that the deferred action policy that has been in place for the last four years is not affected by this ruling, which means that the people who might have benefited from the expanded deferred action policies will remain low priorities for enforcement.

“In the end, it is my firm belief that immigration is not something to fear. We don’t have to wall ourselves off from those who may not look like us right now, or pray like we do, or have a different last name. Because being an American is about something more than that.”