Farmworker Justice Immigration Update 11/20/2014
President Obama Announces Plan to Defer the Deportation of up to 5 Million Undocumented Persons
Farmworker Justice applauds President Obama for taking positive executive action to address our broken immigration system. We celebrate with the hundreds of thousands of hard-working farmworkers who will qualify for this relief. Farmworker Justice has been working towards a more just immigration system for farmworkers for decades and with the hard work of so many, we stand one step closer to the reform our immigration system so desperately needs. We vow to continue fighting until Congress passes legislation for all undocumented immigrants, including farmworkers who are not covered by this executive action. Our press statement on the President’s announcement is available here.
The President’s plan includes a series of actions, the most significant of which is a plan to provide relief from deportation for up to 5 million undocumented immigrants (this number includes individuals eligible for DACA). Deferred action participants may also apply for work authorization. Individuals may qualify for the new program if they are the parents of US citizens or legal permanent residents (LPR) and have been in the US since January 1, 2010. Applicants must have US citizen or LPR children as of the date of the announcement, November 20, 2014. Applicants will be required to pay a fee and pass a criminal and national security background check. USCIS will not be accepting applications to this program for several months, likely until sometime in the spring. Deferred action and work authorization will last for 3 years and be renewable.
A very rough estimate of farmworkers eligible for deferred action is 450,000. Available data are inadequate to confidently state a number or even a range. There may be about 2.4 million farmworkers in the U.S.; between 50% and 70% are undocumented. Surveys show that a large majority (over 80%) have resided in the U.S. for at least five years; a substantial portion (probably less than one-half) are parents of children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
DACA Program Expanded:
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) will also be expanded to cover more individuals. The requirement that applicants have continuously resided in the US since June 15, 2007 will be changed to January 1, 2010. Significantly, the requirement that applicants were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012 will be eliminated, so there will be no upper age limit for applicants who otherwise qualify.
Worker Protections:
According to the White House, “The Department of Labor (DOL) is expanding and strengthening immigration options for victims of crimes (U visas) and trafficking (T visas) who cooperate in government investigations. An interagency working group will also explore ways to ensure that workers can avail themselves of their labor and employment rights without fear of retaliation.” As more details become available, we will analyze how this might impact workers on the ground.
Enforcement:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also revising its enforcement priorities through a new enforcement memo. Enforcement will be focused on people who committed major crimes and on border enforcement. DHS will be eliminating the Secure Communities program and replacing it with a new program that is aligned with the new priorities.
Other Changes to Visa Programs:
There will also be changes related to H-1B and L visas, students in STEM fields, and entrepreneurs. DHS and the White House will have more information on these plans available on their websites soon.
We will be engaging in more detailed analysis that we will share with you all. We are working with the UFW, UFWF and other farmworker organizations to implement the President’s deferred action program to ensure that as many eligible farmworkers as possible are able to learn about the program and apply. The United Farm Workers Foundation has created a website, sisepuede.org, which provides information about administrative relief. We will also be posting materials on our webpage, www.farmworkerjustice.org.
President Obama Announces Plan to Defer the Deportation of up to 5 Million Undocumented Persons
Farmworker Justice applauds President Obama for taking positive executive action to address our broken immigration system. We celebrate with the hundreds of thousands of hard-working farmworkers who will qualify for this relief. Farmworker Justice has been working towards a more just immigration system for farmworkers for decades and with the hard work of so many, we stand one step closer to the reform our immigration system so desperately needs. We vow to continue fighting until Congress passes legislation for all undocumented immigrants, including farmworkers who are not covered by this executive action. Our press statement on the President’s announcement is available here.
The President’s plan includes a series of actions, the most significant of which is a plan to provide relief from deportation for up to 5 million undocumented immigrants (this number includes individuals eligible for DACA). Deferred action participants may also apply for work authorization. Individuals may qualify for the new program if they are the parents of US citizens or legal permanent residents (LPR) and have been in the US since January 1, 2010. Applicants must have US citizen or LPR children as of the date of the announcement, November 20, 2014. Applicants will be required to pay a fee and pass a criminal and national security background check. USCIS will not be accepting applications to this program for several months, likely until sometime in the spring. Deferred action and work authorization will last for 3 years and be renewable.
A very rough estimate of farmworkers eligible for deferred action is 450,000. Available data are inadequate to confidently state a number or even a range. There may be about 2.4 million farmworkers in the U.S.; between 50% and 70% are undocumented. Surveys show that a large majority (over 80%) have resided in the U.S. for at least five years; a substantial portion (probably less than one-half) are parents of children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
DACA Program Expanded:
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) will also be expanded to cover more individuals. The requirement that applicants have continuously resided in the US since June 15, 2007 will be changed to January 1, 2010. Significantly, the requirement that applicants were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012 will be eliminated, so there will be no upper age limit for applicants who otherwise qualify.
Worker Protections:
According to the White House, “The Department of Labor (DOL) is expanding and strengthening immigration options for victims of crimes (U visas) and trafficking (T visas) who cooperate in government investigations. An interagency working group will also explore ways to ensure that workers can avail themselves of their labor and employment rights without fear of retaliation.” As more details become available, we will analyze how this might impact workers on the ground.
Enforcement:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also revising its enforcement priorities through a new enforcement memo. Enforcement will be focused on people who committed major crimes and on border enforcement. DHS will be eliminating the Secure Communities program and replacing it with a new program that is aligned with the new priorities.
Other Changes to Visa Programs:
There will also be changes related to H-1B and L visas, students in STEM fields, and entrepreneurs. DHS and the White House will have more information on these plans available on their websites soon.
We will be engaging in more detailed analysis that we will share with you all. We are working with the UFW, UFWF and other farmworker organizations to implement the President’s deferred action program to ensure that as many eligible farmworkers as possible are able to learn about the program and apply. The United Farm Workers Foundation has created a website, sisepuede.org, which provides information about administrative relief. We will also be posting materials on our webpage, www.farmworkerjustice.org.