On Thursday, November 20th, President Obama released his long-awaited “Immigration Accountability Executive Actions.” After months of waiting, we now know that because of these policy changes, over 5 million individuals and their families and communities will enjoy more stability than they have in decades.
Some of these changes include:
- Temporary relief from deportation for certain undocumented parents and those who came to the United States as children
- An end to the controversial Secure Communities program and a reprioritization of immigration enforcement
- An end to immigration detainers for state and local jails
These steps will dramatically affect the lives of long-time members of our communities, congregations, and country. With these actions, millions of families will no longer need to constantly fear deportation and separation from their loved ones and established communities. For an even deeper understanding of the President’s Executive Actions, LIRS analyzed the actions and compiled helpful resources.
Unfortunately, efforts to block these much-needed actions have already begun in earnest. Today, both the House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees will hold hearings in response to the President’s announcement. We expect these hearings to be the beginning of a long and sustained negative response from some Members of Congress to the very actions that will relieve so much suffering and family disruption.
In the face of this misplaced opposition, we must continue to send the message to Congress that people of faith support family unity. Thanks to your incredible response after the announcement, more than 600 emails were sent from our Action Center to Members of Congress, urging them to support these critical policy changes. We encourage anyone who has not yet taken action to please do so now through LIRS’s Action Center, and voice your support for the positive impact the President’s plan will have in the lives of so many.