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Deferred action begins today: What you need to know

By UNIVISION NEWS

Hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants can begin applying Wednesday for the Obama administration’s new program that could offer a temporary reprieve from deportation as well as a work permit.

By all accounts, it’s a very emotional day for those the immigrant community. Many lined up to apply for relief and immigration advocates staged demonstrations in support of the initiative around the country.

 ”This is a really historic day. We can’t underestimate the importance of day,” Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), told Univision News. “We haven’t had a victory like this for the immigrant community for several decades.”

The program has also sparked a contentious political debate over the fate of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

Follow along with us today as we cover how the first day of the deferred action program is playing out across the nation.

Basics and background

7:43pm - Photos: long lines in Los Angeles 

Angie Romero was on the ground at CHIRLA  (Coalition For Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A.) today — it’s just a snapshot of what was happening in help centers and lawyers’ offices around the country, as thousands of young, undocumented immigrants begin the application process to obtain relief from deportation. 

6:15 — What would Romney do with the deferred action program? It’s hard to say.

Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie appeared on CNN where he hedged on what the GOP candidate would do with the deferred action initiative.

Gilespie in the past has indicated the program could be subject for repeal, but has not said how Romney would decide.

Check out the transcript from today’s interview:

BLITZER: So what does the governor think about this new policy that has gone into effect today that will impact obviously a lot of folks?

GILLESPIE: Well, Governor Romney believes that we need a long- term solution to our immigration problem in this country. And this short-term solution put forward by the president may make it harder for us, actually, to reach a bipartisan consensus on the need for immigration reform.

We also believe that by the way when you have Americans of Hispanic decent who have an unemployment rate 10 percent higher than the national average, one of the most important things we can do is to get our economy moving again and make sure that Hispanic Americans like all Americans are able to get more jobs, have higher take home pay and see economic growth in this country.

And there are a lot of other issues as well that Americans of Hispanic decent care deeply about when it comes to our future and the future for their children.

BLITZER: Does he still support what he spoke about during one of the debates over the past several months self-deportation?

GILLESPIE: His position he laid out entails taking a comprehensive look at this, how to solve this problem. But he does not support President Obama’s action that he’s taken today. He believes that it’s not going to help us get a long-term solution.

5:47 — The only time someone would be excited to go to the DMV

As the deferred action application process gets underway, some uncertainty remains surrounding whether or not accepted applicants will be able to get driver’s licenses.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said it will be up to individual states to decide whether or not to issue driver’s licenses, an announcement that has sent states scrambling to put policies in place.

In Maryland, residents whose applications for deferral are accepted may be eligible to apply for licenses.

Buel Young, spokesman for the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, said that his state requires a status document to get a license, and that his department is still waiting on clarification from the Department of Homeland Security on what that document will be for accepted deferred action applicants.

He added that a work permit typically qualifies as a status document, but stopped short of saying that those issued work permits through the DACA program would be eligible to apply for licenses.

“Once we receive guidance from DHS, once we know if the document being issued is something we can verify [as a status document], then we can begin the driver’s license application process,” said Young.

4:34 - Why you should hire a DREAMER

At a time of uncertainty when not even Facebook stock is a safe bet it is time to actively search for a DREAMer. Hiring an immigrant with a newly-acquired work permit might just turn out to be the best investment you make this year.

3:30 PM - Evangelicals praise DACA

Evangelical Christian leaders are celebrating the deferred action program as a step toward real reform.

“Today dreams come true for young immigrants who have grown up in America,” Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said in a statement. “Now let us all dream of our country with new immigration laws of opportunity and justice for all.”

Churches stand to play a big role in educating parishioners about how to apply for deferred action, and lawmakers have called on religious leaders to help young people in their communities through the process.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said in a statement that his organization “encourage[s] churches and faith leaders to walk with our youth and assisting addressing legal and financial concerns.”

A diverse group of evangelicals has emerged as an unlikely champion of immigration reform. From Jim Wallis of the left-leaning Sojourners to right-wing Focus on the Family and the Council of Catholic Bishops, dozens of leaders have signed an “Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform” document that calls for a solution and criticizes both Republicans and Democrats for “an unacceptable political stalemate at a tragic human cost.”

According to USA Today, the group — which is calling itself the “Evangelical Immigration Table” — says it will focus on electing leaders to Congress that share its views, and person-to-person outreach and media buys in several swing states with large evangelical populations.

5:47 PM — Still working out the kinks

As the deferred action application process gets underway, some uncertainty remains surrounding whether or not accepted applicants will be able to get driver’s licenses.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said it will be up to individual states to decide whether or not to issue driver’s licenses, an announcement that has sent states scrambling to put policies in place.

Maryland residents whose applications for deferral are accepted may be eligible to apply for licenses.

Buel Young, spokesman for the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, said that his state requires a status document to get a license, and that his department is still waiting on clarification from the Department of Homeland Security on what that document will be for accepted deferred action applicants.

He added that a work permit typically qualifies as a status document, but stopped short of saying that those issued work permits through the DACA program would be eligible to apply for licenses.

“Once we receive guidance from DHS, once we know if the document being issued is something we can verify [as a status document], then we can begin the driver’s license application process,” said Young.

2:58 PM - Help on the way for paying the price

Colorlines reports that a fund is being established to help DREAMers who need assistance to pay the $465 fee that is required to apply for deferred action.

2:24 PM - Joy and madness around the country

2 PM - Being undocumented is his kryptonite

From Memphis, Albert Sabaté writes about Ricardo Mata, who will benefit by deferred action.

“We could be anything but we’re held back,” he said, “the only thing holding us back are those digits.”

Those nine digits are the social security number that dreamers like Mata don’t have. Deferred action won’t give him a social security but it will allow him to get a job, go to college and live a more normal teenage life.

Read more and watch video

1:07 PM — To apply, or not to apply?

By all accounts, thousands are eagerly applying for deferred action. But one of the major storylines of this program has been latent fear in the immigrant community about coming forth and applying for relief.

Some in the community worry that if they apply and are rejected for deferred action, they could be placed in deportation proceedings themselves.

Lawmakers and advocates have attempted to convince the community that won’t be the case. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) penned a Huffington Post op-ed urging eligible immigrants to apply. NILC’s Marielena Hincapié told Univision News that trust of the program can only be built by people applying and the government granting relief.

“This fear that the community has will only dissipate, it will only go away if we see the administration fulfilling that promise, that means the sooner  people get deferred action granted, it will spread like wildfire,” she said.

Hincapié suggested that deporting failed applicants would violate the “spirit behind this program.”

Others are emphasizing caution to fill out all paperwork properly, since the threat of deportation could be real.

11:26 AM — The political controversy

    • Univision’s Jordan Fabian appeared on “The Takeaway” Wednesday morning to discuss what might happen to the deferred action program if Mitt Romney defeats President Obama in the fall. He also judged the prospects of broader, permanent immigration reform taking place in a second Obama term.

  • The program has not been put into place without controversy. Two top Republican lawmakers — Rep. Lamar Smith (Texas) and Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa) — have penned a letter saying that the program could be susceptible to fraud and that it could lead to “back door amnesty”:

We are very concerned about the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to grant deferred action to individuals here illegally, particularly with regard to how the President’s directive will be implemented without a serious plan to combat fraud and abuse. While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by those who seek deferred action … It’s distressingly clear that the administration plans to press the replay button for the large-scale fraud from the 1986 amnesty. 

  • Per the AP: “The government renewed warnings that the process wouldn’t lead to citizenship or give them permission to travel internationally. It will begin accepting immigrants’ applications Wednesday.” The feds also said anyone who commits fraud will be referred to immigration agents.

  • Of course, not all Republicans are dead set against the order like Grassley and Smith.
  • A photo reminder of a prominent immigration advocate of the program’s popularity:
  • And here is the latest crowd estimate from Chicago:
  • More lines in California:
  • The Big Apple

10:34 AM — How do you apply? Who is applying?

  • Need a form to apply for deferred action? We have you covered. It will cost $465 to apply and you must supply documentation proving you’re eligible for the program.
  •  Who is eligible? per the Pew Hispanic Center: (You must have lived in the U.S. for the past five years, you must have been in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, but must be enrolled in school, have a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the military, no criminal convictions, you must be no younger than 16 and no older than 30)
  • Univision’s Albert Sabaté is in Memphis riding along with the Undocubus, a group of immigration reform advocates who are raising awareness about the undocumented population. Many will be applying for deferred action today.

(Photo: Screenshot, YouTube)

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