“That means illegal immigrants may well be impossible to deport,” The New American’s R. Cort Kirkwood previously reported. “Once the Land of the Free provides all these benefits, there isn’t much chance politicians will have the courage to take them away.”
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced October 24 that about 200,000 young illegal immigrants have applied to defer their deportation, and more than 3,000 young illegals are applying every day under the Obama administration’s new immigration policy.
Napolitano communicated these statistics to a panel of teachers and education experts in Washington who serve on the agency’s Academic Advisory Council. Several panel members, including Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, touted the White House’s effort as a crucial immigration policy change.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the program earlier this year to redirect its resources to deporting dangerous criminals who entered the country illegally, while giving the slip to non-criminal illegal immigrants. Specifically, the policy permits people under the age of 31 who crossed the border illegally before they were 16 to apply for a deferment that would allow them to stay in the United States for a two-year renewable period.
“Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion,” the agency reports, in outlining the policy. “Under this process, USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] will consider requests on a case-by-case basis. While this process does not provide lawful status or a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship, individuals whose cases are deferred will not be removed from the United States for a two year period, subject to renewal, and may also receive employment authorization.
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