New Immigration Regulations
Today, President Obama announced that he is enacting new immigration regulations through the Department of Homeland Security to allow people who meet a given criteria to receive a deferred action on deportation for a period of two years. That defered action can be renewed after those two years.
The full description of the new actions can be found at the DHS website. That page defines defered action as a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. It then states that the actions does not confer lawful status upon an individual and that it does not absolve individuals of any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence.
In addition to attending college, the measure will allow those who receive defered action to legally work within the United States. This is contingent that the person can show an economic necessity for their employment.
Specifically, a person that receives defered judgement is required to meet the following criteria:
- must have come to the United States under the age of sixteen;
- must have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
- must be currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
- must not have been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
- must not be above the age of thirty.
The order goes on to state that anyone requesting defered action must be able to provide school, medical, or other records to verify that they have lived in the country for the required amount of time. They must also provide biometric data to check criminal background data.