Guyanese Americans and Obama’s immigration reprieve

Nov 27, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Immigration reform (limited amnesty) is the talk among Guyanese in America.  There is an estimated half a million Guyanese in America, with the bulk of them settled in New York and New Jersey.
Everywhere I visited in New York, Guyanese are pleased with the President’s executive order that has been making front page news since last Thursday, November 20.
Bypassing Congress who had been dilly-dallying for over five hours on a reform bill, President Obama decided to act unilaterally to grant a temporary reprieve to illegal immigrants. Guyanese and other immigrants welcome the president’s action.
The President’s order will give a three-year relief to nearly five million illegals, including thousands of Guyanese, who have no criminal background. The President’s order would allow “illegal” immigrants who have been living in the US for more than five years to apply for temporary work permits.  Only model immigrants will benefit from the order. Criminals will be deported, as happened to hundreds of thousands since Obama took office in January 2009.  Those living illegally in the US and who have a family sponsorship will not be affected, as the bill is not about them.
The President pitched his limited amnesty (although he did not use that term) by pointing out that the illegals have ties to America through their American-born children or through relations with American citizens; some of their children serve in the military.
It is also noted that they have been working hard and contributing to the coffers and that the nation stands to benefit from his order. The order will bring people out of the shadows and making them pay their right amount of taxes. The government also stands to benefit from the receipt of fees to process applications that will create many jobs as the law is being enforced further enriching the treasury.
The President rightly noted that deporting millions is “not American” as people have been coming to America for millenniums.
“It is not who we are”, he stated. And he cited Scripture to support his action: “We shall not oppress a stranger for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too” — a reference to America being a nation of immigrants with early European immigrants coming as strangers and being welcomed by the native Amerindians who eventually lost their land to the strangers. The nation is observing Thanksgiving today as a result of the welcoming gesture of the natives.
The President’s order would expand a program created by his administration in 2012 called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows young people (who entered the US before January 15, 2007) who were brought into the country as children to apply for deportation deferrals and work permits as long as they pass background checks. Several Guyanese are beneficiaries of this program. The new order would extend eligibility to people who entered the United States as children before January 2010 as opposed to 2007. It would increase the deferral period to three years from two years and altogether eliminate the requirement that applicants be under 31 years old.
Reports say about 1.2 million young immigrants are currently eligible, and the new plan would expand eligibility to approximately 300,000 more. However, reports say there are protections for farm workers, some of whom are Caribbean nationals working in the south, or parents of DACA-eligible immigrants.
The US is divided by party lines on the issue. Democrats support the President’s action while Republicans are opposed to it. Potential presidential candidates have lined up behind their party’s position. Hillary Clinton is supporting President Obama’s order while Jeb Bush, from the “Good Old Party” of the Republicans, is opposed to it.
Jeb, and his older brother, George, were previously supportive of amnesty but Jeb, in a bid for the Republican Presidential nomination of 2016, does not want to alienate himself with Conservative voters who are opposed to the executive order and who will choose the Republican nominee.
The Republicans say they will take action to block the President’s initiative. They are threatening a possible shutdown of the government and withholding funding to carry out the order, but the President does not need funding for bureaucrats to carry out the order.
The Republicans are also talking of impeaching the President for allegedly taking action which they claim violates the Constitution. But they are not likely to go down that road because the Constitution allows the President to issue Executive Orders; Previous Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan all took executive action on immigration reform.
Republican Speaker John Boehner has charged the President with acting “like a king or emperor”, adding that the presidential order “will now prevent the legislators and the President from working together on a comprehensive immigration policy”.
Instead of preventing cooperation between the executive and legislative branch, Obama’s executive order should impel the Republicans to quickly pass an immigration reform bill. After all, it was Republicans who blocked all efforts to address the problem, going back to 2005 when President George Bush was in favour of granting some kind of amnesty to deserving undocumented immigrants.
Reports note that the Republicans sound very hysterical in their response to the unilateral action by the President. They should welcome the order. Republicans stand to benefit from some kind of amnesty, as Asians and Hispanics have been supporting the Democrats in elections because of the Republican opposition to amnesty.
The Republicans need to show they are caring and compassionate. The country should not be deporting grandparents, fathers and children, and bright students who can contribute to the development of the country. As critics state, for a political party that prides itself in standing for a strong economy, strong national security and strong family values, it should support the President’s action and a similar bill.
Those who pose a threat to the country will be deported and those who are in good standing will contribute tens of billions to the economy. Amnesty will lead to prosperity. Studies show that passing comprehensive immigration reform will increase GDP by more than $1.5 trillion over 10 years, decrease the deficit by almost a trillion dollars in the next 20 years, and boost GDP growth by more than 5 percentage points – goals that Republicans have been advocating for decades. Furthermore, reform will help to weed out the unwanted and keep families together – both being Republican goals.
The President’s detractors say he has no constitutional authority to give immigration relief to millions and threaten court action. It is unlikely the Republicans will go to court and incur the wrath of Hispanics and Asians, who the Republicans need to win the next Presidential election. Conservatives who oppose the President might also say that an executive order on immigration poisons the relationship between the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House. No it does not. The President has been trying for some five years to get Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. It was Republicans who kept coming up with excuses and even opposed relief for young students under the DREAM act.
Guyanese Americans and others should continue to express support for Obama’s action and write to the Republicans to pass the immigration reform bill adopted by the Senate and languishing in the House. Put the bill to a vote!
Vishnu Bisram

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