At 8pm EST tonight, President Obama will unveil his highly-anticipated executive action on immigration. The potential administrative reforms would include temporary protections to stabilize the lives of millions of deserving people living in the United States. While we do not know the exact details of the President’s plan, some of these potential actions could include:
- Extending deferred action to 4.5 million parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. Family unity is a core American value and one of the guiding principles of LIRS. Extending deferred action would allow more families to stay together without fear of deportation. As people of faith, we believe that families belong together regardless of immigration status.
- Expanding eligibility requirements for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include almost 300,000 eligible young people. Expanding DACA allows children to be free from worry about their removal and lets them focus on bettering their lives.
- Ending or reforming the highly-controversial Secured Communities program.
- Altering enforcement priorities to channel resources into targeting serious criminals and those individuals who pose a risk to the safety of our communities.
- Increasing border security. As people of faith, we hope that any proposed border security measures also promotes our goal of protecting and respecting human rights at the border.
While we are pleased that President Obama plans to take significant steps to stabilize the lives of millions of deserving migrants living in the United States, we realize that this is not a substitute for long overdue legislation to fix our immigration system. The Administration’s continued practice of migrant family detention, for example, is unacceptable for our nation, our values, and our faith. On this and other key issues, LIRS will continue to advocate for bipartisan and compassionate immigration reforms.
Join us tonight in watching the President’s announcement at 8pm EST. A live stream of President Obama’s announcement will be available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. Please also stay tuned for more information from LIRS as details become available in the coming hours, days, and months.
Thank you for standing for welcome.
Photo credit: Chuck Kennedy, White House
