The Obama administration has announced that a specific category of undocumented immigrants will be able to avoid deportation and seek work authorisation in the US due to a policy change. The changes will apply to a very narrow category of undocumented individuals however. To benefit from the changes the immigrant must have arrived in the US before the age of 16, have lived in the US for a minimum of 5 years, be under the age of 30, not have a criminal record and be high school graduates, currently in school or have been honourably discharged from the military. This group of immigrants are called the "Dreamers", after the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, a legislative proposal which was introduced in 2001. The policy changes do not go as far as that Act however, allowing any immigrants who fall within the category only to apply for a two-year renewable deferral of deportation rather than any type of permanent residence status.
Click here to read an article on the Human Rights in Ireland blog about the changes.
In other news in the US, the Supreme Court has delivered a decision on the Arizona anti-immigrant law and other similar laws within other States. The SB 1070 Arizona law allowed for discriminatory practices towards immigrants, most notably a ‘show me your papers’ provision which raised concerns about racial profiling. This Section 2(B) of the relevant legislation requires law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of any individual if they have a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that they are illegal immigrants. Although the Court struck down three of the four provisions at issue in Arizona v. United States, it let stand the ‘show me your papers’ provision. This was despite the warning that it could be ruled unconstitutional based on impending challenges based more specifically on racial profiling and prolonged detention.
Click here to read an article about the recent development.