Jan. 4, 2016 Updated 12:46 p.m
By ALEJANDRA MOLINA / STAFF WRITER

One thing is all but certain in 2016.

The immigration issue will continue to frame national political debate and inspire passionate discussions at gatherings throughout the Inland area.

Concern over letting Syrian immigrants come to the United States in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks and questions over how Pakistani Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino shooters, was allowed here on a K-1 fiancee visa, have inflamed rhetoric on both sides of the issue.

Add to that a potential increase in immigrants voting in the upcoming election presidential primary and general elections, and it’s clear immigration can’t be ignored.

Here is what to look out for in the coming year:

SAN BERNARDINO AND THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE

Before the Dec. 2 shooting that killed 14 and wounded 22 others, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump already was advocating for mass deportation of millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, as well as their American-born children.

Following the deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris, Trump advocated for a government database to track Muslims in the United States.

Trump then called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” after the San Bernardino massacre that the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

John Berry of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots said people now view immigration as synonymous with national security.

“As the Dec. 2 atrocities reveal, the two are inextricably linked,” Berry said. “People see immigrants as the pipeline for terrorists ... because of that, immigration has become that much more important.”

Berry said more activists at the local level are urging their elected officials to stand against terrorism, by opposing unvetted immigration.

Jose Muñoz, who grew up in San Bernardino and teaches immigration at Cal State San Bernardino, said the immigration implications of San Bernardino will come up often in the coming year.

“People are even more fearful about migrants, about border security,” Muñoz said.

“I think people will use it to justify border security and you certainly see what Trump is doing,” he added.

FATE OF SYRIAN REFUGEES

Dozens of U.S. governors have vowed to reject Syrian refugees from resettling in their states after the deadly Paris terrorist attacks.

Texas is mounting the most aggressive campaign of the nearly 30 states that have vowed to ban Syrian refugees. It’s the only state that has taken the U.S. government to court in an effort to block resettlement. Meanwhile, a federal judge rejected the state’s request.

Despite the ruling, Texas’ lawsuit is not over. A hearing is likely in January.

According to The New York Times, the U.S. has accepted roughly 1,800 Syrian refugees since 2012. California is among the 36 states where refugees have settled, per multiple media reports.

Even as governors in some states say Syrian refugees aren’t welcome, resettlement agencies and volunteer groups with refugees continue welcoming them.

Here in the Inland area, clergy leaders said it’s the responsibility of the faith community to help them.

The Rev. Bill Freeman of Menifee United Church of Christ declared in November that his congregation is offering to house Syrian refugees. The church received threatening messages after expressing its support for Syrian refugees.

SHIELDING FROM DEPORTATION

The outcome of President Barack Obama’s plan to spare about 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, could be determined by the Supreme Court.

After a federal appeals court in New Orleans upheld a Texas-based federal judge’s injunction against his plan, the Obama administration vowed to take the issue to the Supreme Court.

The courts could hold arguments in April with a decision expected in June. If the justices rule for the administration, Obama would have roughly seven months in office to implement his plan.

Inland immigrant rights groups supporting the president’s immigration executive order said they’re hopeful the courts will rule in their favor.

“We definitely feel that by June of this coming year, with the Supreme Court hopefully taking the case, that we will know if (Obama’s plan) will be reality,” said Javier Hernandez, director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice.

“We feel the Supreme Court will get it right,” Hernandez said.

Obama’s plan would expand the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally before they were 16. Under the expansion, the former age cap of 31 was eliminated.

The other major part, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, would extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for years.

BECOMING CITIZENS

The anti-immigrant rhetoric in today’s political landscape is encouraging immigrants to become U.S. citizens. And the White House has recently promoted a citizenship campaign.

That’s why the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and other immigrant rights groups are planning a number of citizenship drives this coming year.

In November, the coalition held what was supposed to be a legal clinic focusing on health-care access for immigrant children and DACA-related issues, but it became a full-scale citizenship drive when several people expressed interest in filling out citizenship applications.

The group wound up helping about 50 people complete their citizenship applications within about five hours.

“We were very shocked to see those types of numbers,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said immigrants are more interested in becoming citizens in order to vote against candidates like Trump who are advocating deportation. The White House campaign also is helping, he said.

President Obama in September launched the “Stand Stronger” campaign encouraging immigrants to “commit to citizenship.” The campaign’s website features practice citizenship exams, a citizenship class locator, and citizenship applications.

About 8.8 million immigrants are eligible for citizenship, the White House said.

Research shows that at least for Latinos, those who become citizens during a politically charged environment on immigrant issues, vote at rates substantially higher than native-born or longer term naturalized Latino citizens, according to the University of Southern California’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.

CENTRAL AMERICAN MIGRATION

Authorities in 2016 could continue to see a growing number of Central American migrant families attempting to cross the U.S. southern border as violence grips the region.

El Salvador, for example, this year made headlines for reaching levels of violence not seen since the end of the civil war in 1992.

Data show there’s been a massive boost in the number of unaccompanied children and families caught trying to cross the U.S. southern border.

Nearly 10,600 unaccompanied children in 2015 were apprehended at the border in October and November, more than twice the amount during the same time period last year, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

About 12,500 people traveling as families were caught this year in October and November. Last year, 4,577 were caught during the same time period.

Most of the families are from Central America’s Northern Triangle, which includes Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

San Bernardino Guatemalan Consulate Billy Muñoz said the Central American migration flow to the U.S. continues, but he said many immigrants are being detained in Mexican territory and never make it to the U.S. border.

Muñoz said the Guatemalan Consulate, since its opening in San Bernardino in 2015, has promoted the Central American Minors Refugee/Parole Program that works to reunite Central American immigrants who arelegally in the United States with family members in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

He said 20 cases of people in the Inland area have so far been identified to potentially benefit from this program that provides “certain qualified children in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States,” said the U.S. Department of State, which administers the program.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/i...tizenship.html