New York Times
By Julia Preston
November 19, 2014
Every
time Berzabeth Valdez heads out to work from her mobile home on the
outskirts of Houston, it crosses her mind that she might not come back.
Ms.
Valdez, 48, is a Mexican immigrant who has been living in Texas for 11
years without legal papers, and so without a driver’s license. For her
commute to her job as a restaurant manager,
she keeps her taillights in working order and never speeds.
“We
are terrified of the police,” Ms. Valdez said. “One traffic ticket
could end in deportation. I could lose my whole life, everything I have
gained for my family.”
One
of Ms. Valdez’s daughters grew tired of living with those fears and
joined an organization of young undocumented immigrants. The youths, who
call themselves Dreamers, won protection from
deportation from President Obama in 2012 and continued to press him to
extend those measures to others in the country illegally.
On
Thursday, Mr. Obama will announce changes to the immigration
enforcement system that will allow as many as five million immigrants to
remain and work legally. But the youths will face a
bittersweet ending, because White House officials have decided to leave
out their parents, according to advocates familiar with the plans.
Carolina
Canizales, left, and her mother Maria Canizales at Carolina’s
graduation from the University of Texas in May 2012. Credit Diana
Canizales
“It’s
getting so hard to call my mom,” said María Fernanda Cabello, 23, Ms.
Valdez’s activist daughter. “I’ve had to tell her, ‘There is a victory
coming, and I don’t know if you’re part of
it.’ ”
Mr.
Obama will grant deportation reprieves to undocumented parents whose
children are American citizens and legal permanent residents if they
have lived in the country for five years and have
not committed serious crimes, administration officials said. Officials
say the president can exercise prosecutorial discretion to avoid
breaking up the families of children entitled to be in the country and
to steer enforcement agents toward deporting criminals
and foreigners who pose national security threats.
But
some senior administration officials have argued that it would be more
difficult both legally and politically to make the case for including
parents of immigrants in the existing program
for young people who came when they were children, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Since that program is based on executive
action by Mr. Obama, the youths have deportation deferrals and work
permits but no green cards or any other visa or
formal immigration status, which only Congress can confer. Their
parents’ claim for relief is weaker, the officials said.
The
president is facing angry opposition from Republicans to his new
initiatives. Calling Mr. Obama’s plans “executive amnesty,” Senator Jeff
Sessions of Alabama, an outspoken adversary, accused
him of seizing sole power to decide who can live and work in the United
States. “Surrendering to illegality is not an option,” Mr. Sessions
said.
Republicans are considering different ways to stop funding for the president’s new measures and for the existing DACA program.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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