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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Poster child for new policy ineligible

    Poster child for new policy ineligible

    By Susan Carroll
    Updated 11:41 p.m., Saturday, June 23, 2012

    She is near the back of the crowd of undocumented immigrants featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and staring back at the camera under the headline “We Are Americans*.”

    The story ran just before President Barack Obama announced plans June 15 to allow illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to apply for protection from deportation and work permits.

    In many ways, the woman under the “M” in TIME, Julieta Garibay, is a poster child for Obama's new policy: Her mother brought her to the U.S. when she was 12. She has a bachelor's and a master's degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin.

    But Garibay is 31 years old, and the plans announced by the Obama administration cut off eligibility at age 30. Garibay, who dreams of being a military nurse, will have little option but to continue volunteering and working as a babysitter while many of the immigrants she stood with on the cover of TIME are likely to get a chance to work in their chosen fields.

    “It's a little disappointing,” she said, “but it does not take away from this huge victory.”

    Immigration attorneys have reported counseling disappointed clients who will barely miss out on qualifying under the new policy, which offers illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and stayed in school and out of trouble protection from deportation lasting two years, after which it could be renewed. Those who qualify can apply for work permits.

    The government's criteria, which also requires that applicants have entered the country before turning 16, has in some instances meant that one sibling in a family will qualify while another will not, attorneys said.

    “You know they have to have limits,” said Elise Wilkinson, a local immigration attorney. “But it is very heartbreaking when they miss qualifying by an inch.”

    Officials have said it could take up to two months to create a formal application process for those eligible.

    The basic information released by Department of Homeland Security officials already has eliminated the vast majority of the estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. In addition to the age requirements, the policy requires applicants to be enrolled in school, have graduated high school or have a GED. They also must have lived in the U.S. for the past five years and not have any felony convictions or “significant” or multiple misdemeanors.

    The Migration Policy Institute estimated that 1.39 million illegal immigrants — including about 170,000 in Texas — would be eligible under the new policy.

    Immigrant advocates have widely praised the president's plan, a marked change from the chorus of criticism Obama has faced from Hispanic groups for deporting record-setting numbers of illegal immigrants.

    But the new policy has roiled many Republican leaders who have criticized it as an administrative “amnesty.” It also forced Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney to outline his plans on immigration, saying he supports a “path to legal status” for those who serve in the military.

    Garibay, despite her dream of becoming a military nurse, said she greeted Romney's proposal with skepticism, noting her age likely would again disqualify her and that many undocumented immigrants are not interested in joining the military.

    A Mexico City native, Garibay plans to help the national United We Dream campaign spread the word in Texas about eligibility under the new policy, she said, adding that it is not a permanent solution to the nation's immigration problems.

    “This is not a one-time thing,” she said. “We are going to continue fighting.”

    Hang Youk, a University of Houston graduate with an accounting degree, watched the president's speech televised from the White House Rose Garden, hoping the new policy might mean a fast-track to a work permit.

    Youk's slide into undocumented status started in 2000 with the murder of his father, a Houston convenience store worker who brought his family to the U.S. from South Korea legally and had a green card application pending.

    His father's sudden death also meant the end of the green card petition he had filed for his family members, leaving Youk and his mother and sister in legal limbo.

    Through the years, Youk has tried different avenues to stay in the U.S. legally while trying to build a life in Houston. He passed his exams to become a Certified Public Accountant last year, but has been unable to get his license because it requires a year's work experience under a CPA.

    In 2010, Youk's immigration attorney tried to revive an old green card application Youk had filed years earlier with the support of a potential employer. The application was filed under a law Congress has since phased out that allowed undocumented immigrants who met certain criteria and paid a fine to become green card holders without leaving the country.

    But Youk said the processing of those petitions is backlogged for several years.

    As Youk heard more details of Obama's plan, he realized he had missed out again. Youk was 18 when he entered the U.S. from South Korea and had just turned 32 in April, making him ineligible.

    A devout Christian, Youk said he was “a little discouraged,” but also happy for those who would benefit from the new policy.

    “I will eventually fulfill my dreams,” he said.

    susan.carroll@chron.com

    Poster child for new policy ineligible - San Antonio Express-News
    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Looks like they are already gearing up to stretch the rules.
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  3. #3
    Member scottiemum's Avatar
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    The guy at the front of that photo was on Bill O'Reilly last week. His parents sent him from the Phillipines when he was 12 to live with his grandparents. His grandfather 'gave' him a GC and when he wanted a DL his grandfather 'gave' him a SS#. As O'Reilly said "your grandfather was a very busy man!".

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