Mexicans hail Obama's call for a freeze on deporting young illegal immigrants (+video)
(Read article summary)Today, President Obama ordered his administration to stop deporting young immigrants who came to the US illegally as kids and don't pose a security threat.
Mexico City
Nothing raises the ire of Mexicans more than stories like this: a young Mexican, brought illegally to the US as a baby, is deported as a young adult back “home,” despite having no family ties in Mexico, and often not even speaking Spanish.
Now President Obama has taken a step hailed in Mexico: He's called for ending deportations – effective immediately – and beginning to grant work permits for young illegal immigrants who have been in the US since they were children.
“It is definitely a source of a lot of moral distress because the kids are American in their upbringing and their culture,” says David Mena Alemán, a professor of international affairs at the Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. “Among people realistic in their views about immigration, this is a very good step forward.”
The plan was announced Friday by Department of Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano, and has been described as a temporary fix. Illegal immigrants who are under age 30 but brought to the US before they were 16 are eligible for a deportation waiver and can apply for a two-year work permit. Those eligible must be in school or have a high school or equivalent degree. The policy also applies to those who have served in the military. All must be law-abiding, as well. It could affect some 800,000 immigrants.
