1. Gov. Heineman Reaction on President Obama's Deferred Action Program
The deferred action process that was implemented by President Obama's administration, will
be administered by the US Department of Homeland Security. Removal of many eligible
undocumented immigrants from the United States may be deferred through this process.
According to the USCIS, an undocumented immigrant in the United States, who satisfies the
eligibility requirements for deferred action may file Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals, to request deferred action. The deferred action policy is a kind
of prosecutorial discretion and it will defer the deportation of certain undocumented
immigrants, without granting them any legal status. This process will also grant the recipients
of deferred action, employment authorization and will allow them to work and reside in the
United States for a period of two years.
Though the process is accepted by many, few American states, such as Nebraska and
Arizona are against this process. After the deferred action process was implemented, Arizona
Gov. Jan Brewer announced that Arizona will grant no state benefits to the recipients of
deferred action. Following the announcement from Gov. Jan Brewer, Nebraska Gov. Dave
Heineman stated that the undocumented immigrants who receive deferred action will not
receive driver's licenses and other benefits from the state. Nebraska which has joined with
Arizona, is opposing the deferred action program and also opposes legal status for
undocumented immigrants. There are around 10,000 undocumented immigrants who are
eligible to receive deferred action, in Arizona and Nebraska.
Around 1.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States are likely to become
eligible to receive deferred action. They will also become eligible to receive work permits and
driver's licenses in the United States. Applicants who are not more than 31 years of age and
applicants above age 15 are eligible to receive these benefits, if they are found to be eligible
to receive deferred action, provided that they do not have criminal records and satisfy the key
criteria for deferred action. Such eligible applicants may file Form I-821D to request deferred
action. As soon as the application forms for deferred action process were published by the
USCIS, thousands of undocumented immigrants lined up to request consideration for
deferred action. However, many Latino groups have a notion that the information that they
provide may be used by the immigration authorities to identify and deport their families.
The announcements from Gov. Jan Brewer and Gov. Dave Heineman, appear to challenge
the federal law, which states that the undocumented immigrants may receive driver's licenses,
if they are granted deferred action. The announcements from the governors are likely to
weaken Obama's deferred action policy. Many undocumented immigrants in the United States
also have a doubt whether the process will go on, even if Mitt Romney wins the presidential
election this year. The disputation over the deferred action policy may become intense and
will continue, following the moves of Gov. Jan Brewer and Gov. Dave Heineman. Eligible
undocumented immigrants in Nebraska and Arizona may file Form I-821D, with the USCIS to
request deferred action, though Arizona and Nebraska had announced that state benefits will
not be conferred to the deferred action recipients.