Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva Hosts Immigration-Policy Forum

ARIZONA REPUBLIC

By Eugene Scott

June 30, 2012

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/06/30/20120630arizona-congressman-grijalva-hosts-immigration-policy-forum.html

An Arizona congressman and advocates for illegal immigrants answered questions and clarified misunderstandings Saturday about President Barack Obama's latest deportation policy.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., held his first of several community forums Saturday for people interested in learning more about recently announced immigration-enforcement policy.

Earlier this month, Obama announced a policy allowing illegal immigrants younger than 30 years old to apply to stay in the United States without being deported for two years. They can apply for a work permit, but still will not have any legal status in the country.

Those illegal immigrants must prove they were younger than 16 when they arrived in the U.S. and have lived here for at least five years. They also must be students, high-school graduates, have GEDs or have been honorably discharged from the military or Coast Guard. Those undocumented immigrants with felony or significant misdemeanor criminal records or who pose a threat to national security or public safety are not eligible.

Grijalva co-hosted the event with several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and the Arizona Dream Act Coalition. About 150 people attended Saturday's event at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Grijalva will host upcoming forums at Pueblo Magnet High School in Tucson on Monday and at Fernando Padilla Community Center in San Luis on Tuesday.

Grijalva said it was important to host these events before Independence Day.

"It reminds us of how we've all lived in this country and want to be a part of this," he told The Republic. "We're talking about kids, who for all intents and purposes, are Americans."

Dulce Matuz, Arizona Dream Act Coalition chairwoman, moved to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 15. She praised Obama's new policy, saying it gives upwardly mobile immigrants a chance to contribute to the U.S. economy, something she said she couldn't do after graduating from ASU because of her immigration status.

"It just really doesn't make sense that two-thirds of my classmates were from China or India," said Matuz, who has a bachelor's in electrical engineering. "There's nothing wrong with being from China or India, but they won't be using their skills in America. They'll go back and make their countries first world countries."

Some at the event said the qualifications of the new policy are too narrow and exclusive, but Grijalva said the policy is progress.

"It's a very important starting point. It's historic. For me, it's cracking the ice," he said.

Grijalva said getting to this point has been frustrating. After the most recent failure in late 2010 of the Dream Act, a measure that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to become U.S. citizens, Republican congressional members, including those in Arizona, have not been open to discussing alternatives, he said.

"All they talk about is enforcement. But the reality is that hasn't solved the problem in the last eight years," Grijalva said. "We need to sit down and work towards a middle ground."

But some say Obama needs to let lawmakers determine solutions instead of implementing policy without their support. The constitutionality of Obama's move is questionable, said Steve Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a D.C.-based think tank.

"Even if you agree that many of these cases are compelling, that's what the Legislature is for. You go back and get them to pass the law. To ignore the law is very troubling," said Camarota, who was not at Saturday's event.

The president's policy benefits some people who broke the law while enforcing the law against others because of factors like college education and age, Camarota said.

"If he wants to not enforce the law on whole categories of people, President Obama, with this immigration issue, has set the precedent," he said. "On its face, there are fairness problems, putting aside the Constitution issue."

Reyna Montoya, 21, graduated in May from ASU with two bachelor's degrees and has been vocal about her status as an illegal immigrant. She said Saturday that she sees herself as a voice for her undocumented peers who are afraid to speak out.

"We're not asking for any rewards. We're not asking for anything to be given to us. We just want to work ans how people we're good citizen in this beautiful country," said Montoya, who's an Arizona Dream Act Coalition intern.