Deferred Action a wise investment

In June when President Obama signed the executive order that led to what has since become known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, we stood behind the president’s action.

Nothing has changed, but we don’t want to see them become victims of a broken system.

We still applaud the Obama administration for even if we suspect, due to the timing, six months before voters go the polls to decide if they want to bring him back for a second term, the move was probably more politically motivated than anything else.

Afterall, if Obama had done nothing, it’s ludicrous to think they would spend billions to round up all of these young people and bus them to the border of what is a foreign country to them.

On Wednesday, Aug. 15, filing began for illegal immigrants, who if they made it through the process would become sort of legal in what is probably the only country most of them truly know, which makes calling them or any human for that matter illegal in the first place almost laughable.

To even apply for deferred status applicants much meet seven strict criteria. But even if they meet what is outlined and pay the paperwork fee little is guaranteed. Successful applicants are promised a work permit or “employment authorization” and one would guess a Social Security number. Every two years they would have to reapply.

In fact after reading the fine print, applicants learn the program can be altered or even rescinded at anytime.

Which means they and this program could become political pawns at any moment.

These are young people most brought here without any say in the matter, educated in US public schools and most also already working here. America has invested in them and they desperately want to be in a position to show the investment was wise.