I cannot put into words how disappointed I am of the deadlock imposed by the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) blocking an immigration plan proposed by president Barack Obama two years ago. (http://nyti.ms/28Q8pn3).
The case, United States v. Texas, No. 15-674, concerned a 2014 executive action by Obama to allow as many as five million unauthorized immigrants who were the parents of citizens or of lawful permanent residents to apply for a program that would spare them from deportation and provide them with work permits. The program was called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA.
The Supreme Court announced today (June 23rd, 2016) that it had deadlocked challenging President Obama’s immigration plan. The 4-4 tie, undoubtedly amplified the contentious election-year debate over the nation’s immigration policy.
It is not fair. Not for me, not for you, not for anyone.
The program would have shielded as many as five million undocumented immigrants from deportation and allowed them to legally work in the United States. In February 2015, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that about 3.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States are potentially eligible for DAPA, around 766,000 in just five counties: Los Angeles and Orange in California, Harris and Dallas in Texas, and Cook in Illinois.
Unfortunately, in December 2014, Texas and 25 other states, all with Republican governors, sued in the District Court for the Southern District of Texas asking the court to enjoin implementation of DAPA. This coalition of states promptly challenged Obama´s plan, accusing the president of ignoring administrative procedures for changing rules and of abusing the power of his office by circumventing Congress.
Texas said that it had standing because it would be costly for the state to give driver’s licenses to immigrants affected by the federal policy. This is coming from a state with a $1.65 trillion economy, the second biggest in the U.S., behind only California. Texas had the second fastest job and economic growth over the past five years, and they do not have the money to process all the paperwork?
In addition, there are 121 of the 1,000 largest public and private companies in the U.S. based in Texas, including giants like AT&T, ExxonMobil and Dell, but sadly, they do not care about immigrants that helped built this kind of economy.
They do not care. They don´t care about the contribution of immigrants to the economy. They do not care that they pick their vegetables and deliver their dinner every single day, and as minimal or incredible it may sound, those are the kind of activities that make an economy move forward. As a payback, undocumented immigrants only get the indomitable task to live in the shadows with fear as an escort and hope as a dream.
They don´t think they deserve a chance to step out of the dark and have a shot to a better life.
About three weeks ago, Larissa Martinez (photo, right), a Texas high school valedictorian, revealed she is an undocumented immigrant during her graduation speech. Martinez, who has been offered a full scholarship to Yale and is hoping to become a pre-med student, told classmates at McKinney Boyd High School that she is “one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States.” (https://youtu.be/Ahhjgo6KSc0)
The 18-year-old and Mexico City native, entered the United States with her mother and little sister to escape from her abusive and alcoholic father seven years ago. They came by plane and were admitted into the country with a tourist visa but remained in the U.S. beyond their permission to stay.
The United States government has admitted that did not build its border, aviation and immigration infrastructure with exit processing in mind. In the particular case with Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the south border does not provide the same opportunities, like the one in Canada, because Mexico’s infrastructure and data collection capabilities are currently more limited.
In 2015, a total of 44.9 million people entered the U.S. with a tourist visa, but according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of this number about 1.7% overstay beyond their period of admission. This is a crack in the U.S. immigration system that it has been very hard to fix and a solution is not even close.
Larissa accomplished her highest notes in school without internet, an own bed, or a washing machine at home. She always was against the wind and the only thing she had on her side was knowledge at her fingertips, but like millions of undocumented immigrants, she had to remain quiet and afraid to be caught and deported back to Mexico
She is the best example on why undocumented immigrants deserve a chance in the United States, but the “broken system” has not been able to process her legalization application because, according to the U.S. Department of State, as of November 2015, Mexico is the country with the highest number of immigrant waiting list registrants. More than 1.3 million Mexicans are waiting to have a visa that allow them to be legally in the U.S. (https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/WaitingListItem.pdf).
As a result, many millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., are at risk of being deported. Instead of going to school or work, they can go back to their countries of origin deported.
Since coming to office in 2009, Obama’s government has deported more than 2.5 million people—up 23% from the George W. Bush years. More shockingly, Obama is now on pace to deport more people than the sum of all 19 presidents who governed the United States from 1892-2000, according to government data.
The Obama administration has spent millions of dollars securing borders, adding tracking technology to surveillance the border. For the last 8 years, the numbers of people crossing the border illegally are at their lowest level.
All this, it is no secret, was Obama doing his part of the deal to have an immigration reform passed in a Republican dominated Congress, but will end his presidency empty handed in this matter.
I have never been undocumented in the United States or someplace else. In over 24 years, I’ve had a diplomatic, journalist, student and tourist visa. I don’t know what it is like the feeling to remain illegally in a country without the proper documents, but I do know what an immigrant has to go thru trying to make it beyond the border and have a living in the United States.
It is unfair that countries like mine (Mexico) do not offer to the most needed the tools to have the basic things in life like having food on a table and a house to cover your family.
It is not fair that as a consequence having nothing, risk your life crossing the border in the middle of the desert with unbearable temperatures, because you come from a country where there is no future and the only one you have, means risking everything hoping to get to a place where you think is a better life.
Larissa Martinez should be applauded for taking the chance to talk about immigration on her graduation speech and expose her case, because a broken immigration system forced her to live in the dark, afraid and in fear, and despite having everything against her, she succeeded and is on its way to Yale.
Larissa, like millions of immigrants in the U.S. have chosen a path, the right path for them. One made of character that can transform in leadership, the one lacking in Congress right now.
Undocumented immigrants do not deserve this treatment. As valedictorian Larissa Martinez said a couple of weeks ago «(immigrants) do want to make America great again without the construction of a wall built on hatred and prejudice.”
There are thousands of immigrants who want to be legally in the country, why is so hard to give them a chance?
They have earned it, and they deserve it. We can do better than that.
Sources:
Marco Núñez Yurén 