DREAMERS!
President Obama's DREAM initiative will go into effect August 15, 2012. In essence, DHS will no longer seek to deport certain undocumented aliens if they meet the criteria.
You may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals if you:
- Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
- Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;
- Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
- Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
- Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
- Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
- Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.
As President Obama's Secured Communities initiative, which requires state and municipal police departments to transmit fingerprints of arrestees to the FBI to facilitate the identification of illegal immigrants, has just been implemented in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts senate is considering its own anti-immigrant measure in Senate Bill S02061. S2061 proposes to prevent the award of state contracts to companies who do not ensure that all their employees have federal work authorization. S2061, in part, also proposes:
- identification of undocumented aliens during OUI arrests,
- increasing penalties for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle (knowing that people without social security numbers cannot get licenses in Massachusetts), and creating a subsequent-offense provision that includes a jail penalty,
- forfeiture of motor vehicles owned by unlicensed operators,
- penalizing employers who hire who do not have federal work authorization through District Attorney or Attorney General investigations by which the District Attorney or Attorney General would have to report the presence of undocumented aliens and identify the offending employer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") (whereupon penalties may be imposed); also, employers would be placed on probation for a first offense and have their licenses revoked for an offense committed while on probation, and
- requiring state courts to confirm the immigration status of every defendant at arraignment.
This bill would made the district attorneys and the courts partners with ICE and would place an unreasonable burden on their already-considerable workload.
Useful Links:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

