New York Times (New York)
By Kirk Semple
February 18, 2015
Immigrants
and their supporters gathered on Wednesday at rallies and news
conferences in New York and across the nation to denounce a judge’s
order halting President Obama’s
sweeping executive actions on immigration and to vow a redoubled effort
in support of the initiatives.
Coming
on the day that one of the new programs was scheduled to take effect,
the gatherings were as much about dispelling rumors and educating the
immigrant population
as about stiffening resolve and buoying hope.
“What
we have met is just a bump in the road,” Representative José E. Serrano
said, at a news conference in Manhattan that had the feeling of a pep
rally, with dozens
of participants, including immigrants, their advocates, public
officials and service providers.
“What I want you to do above all is not to lose hope,” added Mr. Serrano, a Bronx Democrat.
In
1986, Ronald Reagan signed the so-called “amnesty” law passed by
Congress that granted legal status to three million undocumented
immigrants, and then acted on his
own the following year to expand it to about 100,000 more.
Wednesday
was supposed to be a day of celebration for many immigrants: The
federal government had planned to begin accepting applications under the
expansion of a program,
known as deferred action, that would provide temporary relief from
deportation for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as
children.
Another
program that would extend deportation relief to millions of
undocumented parents of American-born children was scheduled to begin in
May.
But
on Monday, a Federal District Court judge in Brownsville, Tex., ruled
in favor of 26 states that had challenged Mr. Obama’s executive actions,
issuing a temporary
injunction blocking the programs. Among other reasons cited, the judge
said the Obama administration had failed to follow proper procedures for
amending federal rules.
The administration suspended the programs but vowed to appeal the decision.
The
uncertainty now surrounding the programs has prompted immigrants’
advocates to intensify their outreach and educational efforts to their
constituents.
Dozens
of news conferences, rallies and educational sessions have been planned
across the country this week “to show support for the immigration
action and speak out against
the attacks,” according to a statement from the Alliance for
Citizenship, a national coalition pushing for immigration reform.
In
New York, some advocates were concerned that the injunction could
complicate a hard-fought effort to attract more people willing to step
forward and apply for a federal
deportation reprieve.
When
the original deferred action program was started in 2012, participation
rates in New York State were unusually low: A year into the program,
only about 34 percent
of the state’s eligible population had signed up, according to
estimates by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research
group in Washington.
Low
turnout spurred new outreach efforts, backed in part by an
extraordinary $18 million budget allocation by the New York City Council
to help undocumented immigrants
qualify. Participation rates a year later had grown to about 49 percent
of eligible immigrants, the institute reported.
But
while some immigrants’ advocates privately expressed concern about the
chilling effect of the injunction, the public message on Wednesday was
enthusiastic and determined.
“This
is just a delay, it is not a defeat,” Steven Choi, executive director
of the New York Immigration Coalition, said at the news conference. “But
we will need to continue
the fight.”
Immigrant
service organizations and others pointed out that unlike with the debut
of the deferred action program in 2012, they have had three months of
lead time to prepare
for the launch of the new initiatives, holding workshops and
strengthening their collaborative networks.
“We’re
better prepared,” Javier Valdés, co-executive director of Make the Road
New York, an immigrant advocacy group, said in an interview, adding
that those networks
had already helped educate and mobilize immigrant populations in light
of the judge’s ruling this week.
And
while anger about the injunction was universal among advocates, some
found a silver lining in it, pointing out that it gave them and their
constituents more time to
organize outreach efforts and prepare application packages.
“We
have more time to prepare ourselves,” said Betsy Plum, director of
special projects for the New York Immigration Coalition. “It’s a
blessing in disguise.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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