President Barack Obama announced a major change in the government’s immigration policy today. Obama said the administration will stop deporting law-abiding undocumented immigrants 30 and under and let them apply for work visas if they pose no risk to national security. The new policy is expected to affect about 800,000 people. Sen. Robert Menendez supports the move, as does American Friends Service Committee Director Amy Gottlieb, who told NJ Today Senior Correspondent Desiree Taylor that the move is a step in the right direction.
Gottlieb said the change will have a positive effect on young people. “What it means is that these kids … will now be able to live here without the threat of deportation, which is an enormous relief for kids who really do live with that fear of being separated from the only country they’ve ever known,” she said.
New Jersey has approximately 500,000 undocumented immigrants. Gottlieb said she doesn’t know how many of them will qualify for the new program, but she believes it’s a significant number.
While Gottlieb said the new policy will have a psychological impact on undocumented families, it won’t change situations for everyone. “It will not allow family members to get legal status. This is not a grant of amnesty, it’s not a path to permanent residency unfortunately. It’s an opportunity for kids to get protection from deportation and to get work permits,” she said. “It will not apply to the rest of their family unless their family meet the qualifications that are listed in the memo that was released today.”
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To qualify, undocumented immigrants have to be under 30, have come to the United States before they turned 16, have lived in the United States for at least five years and graduated from high school, have a GED or served in the military.
Gottlieb said she believes many more young people will come forward in response to the policy change. “These kids are coming forward and I think part of the impetus for this change in policy that was announced today is that these kids have been so courageous. So many of them have stepped up. They’ve done marches to Washington. There’s been a sit-in in one of President Obama’s campaign offices from kids who are really tired of living in the shadows,” she said. “So I think what will happen now is that select group that has really taken this courageous step of putting themselves out there and taking this risk, that now more people who are living in that same situation will be willing to come forward and say, ‘I’m here. recognize me. Let me have legal status and live at least for a short time without fear of deportation.'”
Changes could happen for businesses as well as the undocumented individuals. “It certainly will give businesses the opportunity to hire somebody lawfully,” Gottlieb said, adding that many businesses do not always check immigration status when hiring. She also said the change would help equalize wage protection because everyone would have to be paid the same amount.
Gottlieb said the change isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s a step forward. “I think that we’re going to see a lot of people benefiting,” she said.