As immigration agents brag that their jobs are "fun"
again, immigration advocates are dissuading young undocumented
immigrants from enrolling in the deferred-deportation program that
requires them to provide their personal information to get temporary
work permits. The anxiety follows new directives from Homeland Security
secretary John Kelly that have resulted in sweeping raids across the
country. David Nakamura writes:
Right. DHS also initially denied that the Trump raids were a departure from business as usual. Meanwhile, here's the assessment of federal immigration agents reflecting on their new orders from out in the field:
Kelly’s directives do not overturn the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has granted renewable, two-year work permits to more than 750,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children. But lawyers said that the broad expansion of the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement powers has heightened the risk for immigrants who have registered with the agency.DHS spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said the agency is still processing DACA applications, just as they had during the Obama administration. “We don’t want there to be fear or panic,” she said.
Under the program, applicants are required to present proof of their identity, such as a passport or birth certificate, and show documentation of where they go to school or work.
“The main risk is bringing attention to yourself,” said Gregory Chen, advocacy director for the 14,000-member American Immigration Lawyers Association, which is advising people not to enroll. “Our reading of the DHS memos, and we’ve looked carefully at the language that creates an exception for and retains DACA, is that they really are cold comfort to anyone concerned about the viability of their immigration status.”
Right. DHS also initially denied that the Trump raids were a departure from business as usual. Meanwhile, here's the assessment of federal immigration agents reflecting on their new orders from out in the field:
“Before, we used to be told, ‘You can’t arrest those people,’ and we’d be disciplined for being insubordinate if we did,” said a 10-year veteran of the agency who took part in the operation. “Now those people are priorities again. And there are a lot of them here.”Many of those “priorities” have no criminal records. In other words, they’re not actual safety concerns, many are just hard workers and parents of U.S.-born children who got unlucky. If you’re interested in knowing what it’s like to have your father or mother deported, here’s a piece that’s worth the read.
Interviews with 17 agents and officials across the country, including in Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arizona, Washington and California, demonstrated how quickly a new atmosphere in the agency had taken hold. Since they are forbidden to talk to the press, they requested anonymity out of concern for losing their jobs.
The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said on Tuesday that the president wanted to “take the shackles off” of agents, an expression the officers themselves used time and again in interviews to describe their newfound freedom.
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