Obama Offers Gesture On Immigration
Congressman Gutierrez has previously endorsed the idea of withholding votes from his own party, the Democrats, for their inaction on immigration
The Obama administration has proposed a new process allowing spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the country, curtailing a practice which some say unnecessarily keeps families separated.
Currently, many undocumented immigrants that are eligible for visas must leave the country in order to adjust their status. The devastating aspect of this requirement is that, upon leaving the US to have their documents processed in their country of origin, they trigger a bar against returning to the US for 3 or even 10 years — a catch-22 that tears families apart and punishes hundreds of thousands through extended separation from parents, children and spouses.
If the administration’s proposal goes through, it will become easier for families to avoid these bars by applying for family unity waivers. Waivers in situations of extreme hardship are available now, but the process is incredibly slow and inefficient.
This proposal would offer relief for mixed-status families. Here are the key points on how the administration’s family unity waivers would change the implementation of the bars on returning home:
- In-state processing: If eligible, undocumented husbands, wives and children of US citizens would no longer need to leave the country to process their visa application, and could instead remain in their community through the process.
- Waiting while home: Many say that there is no reason to make a visa applicant wait for months or even years away from their family and community while their application is reviewed. The new procedure could allow spouses and children to remain united with their family members, and would not have to endure long and unequal waiting times depending on home country processing.
- Unclogging the courts here: Government bureaucracy has created a backlog of immigration cases in our courts, and put up other obstacles that keep families separated for years. This proposal, along with enforcement of last summer’s DHS announcement on deprioritizing non-criminal cases, may relieve the courts and boost efficiency.
- Saving time abroad: Waiver applications are often referred by US consulates abroad back to DHS offices in the US for settlement. Processing these applications “stateside” in the first place will allow these consulates to focus staff resources on serving citizens in foreign lands, and will ensure DHS staff develop the expertise to apply uniform legal standards to all cases.
- Relief: Those potentially eligible for family unity waiver include spouses and unmarried children of US citizens — a pool of hundreds of thousands of individuals that could be protected from forced separation from loved ones.
Congressman Luis Gutierrez said, “I am glad that the President is adopting some of the Gutierrez plan to keep families together and make sure that our laws are not unnecessary barriers to legal status and immigration.” The Congressman has pressured the Obama administration for many months to act on immigration. He was the keynote speaker at a few events hosted by CRECEN/America Para Todos and others in Houston and Pasadena. Congressman Gutierrez has previously endorsed the idea of withholding votes from his own party, the Democrats, for their inaction on immigration.
“This is a great step in the right direction and we need to push for more on this announcement to ensure families can stay together,” says a statement by Reform Immigration For America. Time will tell whether his gesture will curb the mounting criticism by Latinos of Obama’s inaction on Comprehensive Immigration Reform
