President Obama made an announcement after the midterm elections a draft of new immigration plans that he has in mind, bringing about mixed reactions. His plans would allow millions of currently illegal immigrants a reprieve from being deported.
The plan includes two measures of "deferred action""”one for young illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children before the age of 16, and one for parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for more than five years or ten years"”the exact number of years is still to be determined. Those granted a reprieve from deportation would also be given legal work permits.
These two parts of the draft plan alone would grant a reprieve from deportation to almost 650,000 children under the age of 18 who currently do not have protection from deportation and up to 3.5 million parents who lived in the U.S. for five years.
Activists who had been working for immigration reforms to keep families together praised the plans, saying that it will enable many families who have members of all statuses"”illegal immigrants, U.S. citizens, and legal permanent residents"”to be able to stay together.
Though most people (71%) in the U.S. believe that some form of legalization for undocumented immigrants is a good thing, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, there is a strong division on how to approach immigration reform between the two major political parties.
Pew's study shows that 53% of Republicans believe "priority should be on better border security and stronger law enforcement," and that 33% of Democrats believe "prioritizing a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants" is more important. 45% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans believe that both are equally important.
The new plans also include a measure to prioritize the deportation of criminal undocumented immigrants, raising salaries for Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers, and giving a 50 percent discount on the $680 fee to be naturalized for the first 100,000 to apply for citizenship.
Republicans have voiced serious opposition toward President Obama's new plans through the media. Not only do Republicans opt for a more practical approach to immigration reform, but they also believe that President Obama is overstepping his boundaries of power, as he has said that he will act "unilaterally" before the end of 2014 to pass the immigration laws. Both Democrats and Republicans alike have disapproved of President Obama's intentions to act unilaterally.
