July 4, 2012 - New York - When Obama’s dream act was announced on June 15, 2012 by Janet Napolitaono, Secretary of Homeland Security, it was never expected by most anyone, that this new directive would help not only innocent undocumented young people, but also those that have violated the law and have already been ordered deported. The new directive actually does more than provide work permission for the qualified applicant, it orders immediate assistance to qualified individuals who are either in removal (deportation) proceeding or has already been ordered removed (deported). In essence anyone who entered the U.S. before the age of 16, is under 31, graduated high school or is still attending school, with no major criminal problem, will have the additional benefit of stopping deportation no matter what phase of the process the undocumented immigrant finds him/her self.
For those dreamers who are already in removal (deportation) proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, ICE (Immigration Customs & Enforcement) will, soon be announcing the process by which qualified individuals may request a review of their case.
For individuals who are in removal proceedings and have already been recognized as meeting the eligibility criteria as part of ICE’s case-by-case review, ICE will immediately begin to offer deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal.
Even an individual, subject to a final order of removal, who can demonstrate that he or she meets the eligibility criteria can request a review of his or her case and receive deferred. All cases will be considered on an individualized basis.
Although announced on June 15, 2012, this process is not yet in effect and requests should not be submitted at this time. In a few days, USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Service) will outline and announce the procedures by which individuals can employ in this process. It is expected that the immigration service, will begin accepting applications after August 15, 2012.
This deffered action policy (Obama's deam act) was created to allow the immigration service to focus on priority cases, such as criminals and those that pose a threat to national security or public safety. Pursuant to the directive of the Secretary of Homeland Security, if an individual satisfies the eligibility criteria, immigration officials should exercise their discretion to prevent them from being apprehended, placed into removal proceedings, or removed. If individuals, including individuals in detention, believe they were placed into removal proceedings in violation of this policy, they should contact either the Law Enforcement Support Center’s hotline at 1-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or the ICE Office of the Public Advocate through the Office’s hotline at 1-888-351-4024 (staffed 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday) or by e-mail at EROPublicAdvocate@ice.dhs.gov.
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