Texas Government Lobby News: The GOP has 11 Million Chances to Help with the Latino Vote
The following is a digest of a story originally posted at the Texas GOP Vote website. The Texas Lobby Group is posting this summary as a public service to other citizens of Texas, Texas lobbyists and lobbying firms, politically interested people, and other interested parties.
It’s hard to be certain of how many undocumented immigrants are presently living in the United States, but it’s probably at about 11 million. It can be all too easy to stereotype these people, and make assumptions about why they are undocumented. Like many issues, it’s a complicated and multi-layered one. The process of legal entry is a difficult one, and human relationships making it even more complicated. Families, marriages, higher education, and green cards all play into the equation. Of these estimated 11 million people, about 70% are latino. An entire 30% of these undocumented immigrants are from different places. Many people have been waiting for years while their Visas sit pending. The majority of these people are acknowledged by the Government. Sadly, they still find themselves living constantly with the possibility that they could be deported.
“They have complied with instructions from Federal law to apply for adjustment of status, or to become a Legal Permanent Resident, only they never anticipated that it would take over 12 years.” In addition, many of their children are of the age and circumstance to be affected by The Obama Administration’s “DREAM” act. The DREAM act is a step forwards, but only provides these families and individuals with a limited amount of protection. If even a small crime is committed, they could face deportation. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is also subject to being retracted. This puts many people in a very unstable place. One foot in the door of being legal, one out.
It’s important to think about these loopholes upon which we build on immigration laws. The ones that are in place clearly are not keeping things steady or under control. We can all agree that it’s time for reform, but how we go about it is another issue. It remains to be seen how the DREAM act will affect America and it’s undocumented residents in the long run. Let’s hope that it is a step in the right direction, and that it can provide the building blocks for a more effective and elaborate system for managing undocumented immigrants.
Read the original story here.