Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
President-elect Joe Biden’s promise to reverse immigration policies, and to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on Day One–after his noontime inauguration on January 20, 2021–is welcome news to some 700,000 DACA recipients. The figure includes 16, 000 Asians.
The DACA and immigration reform issue is in Biden’s stack of Day One executive orders, along with a coordinated program to control the covid-19 pandemic, strengthening the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, and rejoining the Paris climate change accords, among other things.
Raymond Partolan is a former DACA recipient who became a permanent resident or green card holder on November 10, 2020. He works as an Immigration Paralegal at Kuck Baxter Immigration, LLC, a global immigration law practice based in Atlanta, Georgia, and wants to be a lawyer to pursue his advocacy further.
He remarked: “I think that President Biden signing an Executive Order directing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to completely restore the DACA program to its pre-termination state would be a huge step in the right direction. It would mean that tens of thousands of undocumented young people will be able to step out of the shadows and be protected from deportation in the only country they’ve ever known.”
“However,” he added, “such an Executive Order is not enough. We need real, lasting legislative change to ensure fairness and equity towards the greater undocumented community.”
Rep. Linda Sanchez, Democrat from California, is crafting an immigration reform bill, .according to a Politico news report. Biden plans to send it to the US Congress on Day One as president.
The bill’s fate would depend on which party would have Senate majority in the incoming Congress, or which Senators would break party lines to pass it.
Democrats need to win the two seats in the January 5 runoff in Georgia to split the 100-member Senate. The November 3 elections resulted in Republicans winning 50 seats, and Democrats taking 48. As Vice President, Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaker in case of a 50-50 Senate vote on any legislation.
Partolan commented: “While passing such a bill would be an important step in the right direction, it is vital that we, as a community, continue to push for legislation that would benefit as many deserving undocumented people as possible.”
DACA Program
DACA is an executive order issued by President Obama in 2012. (Biden served as vice president during President Obama’s two terms.) DACA allowed adults–who were under age 16 when they unknowingly entered the U.S. without authorization–to stay in the country to study and to work, as well as travel and return, without fear of deportation.
To qualify, applicants should not have a criminal record, must have completed college education or are attending school, must pay a fee, and register with the government. DACA has to be renewed every two years.
It will be recalled that last December 4, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to resume accepting application renewals, and to start accepting new applicants to the DACA program. Reason: The DHS secretary who stopped the DACA application process lacked authority because he did not receive Senate confirmation. Resuming the application process was in accordance with a Supreme Court June 2020 ruling.
New Immigration Climate
Politico reported President-elect Biden declared that on his first day in office, he would sign a series of executive orders reversing President Trump’s policies, including immigration policies.
Biden, according to a December 7 Politico report, would repeal the ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries, stop further funding for the southern border wall, and lift a moratorium on foreign workers during the pandemic.
Congresswoman Sanchez is crafting an immigration reform bill, and Biden plans to immediately send it to the US Congress.
Remarked former DACA recipient Partolan: “The Dream and Promise Act (introduced in previous Congress) would provide a pathway to permanent residency and, later, citizenship, to certain qualifying undocumented people in this country. While passing such a bill would be an important step in the right direction, it is vital that we, as a community, continue to push for legislation that would benefit as many deserving undocumented people as possible.”
“We’re talking about our parents, our aunts and uncles, our grandparents, all of whom lack any major criminal history and who want nothing more than to be able to live in peace and tranquility in this country,” he added. He said the fight for immigrant rights will not be over “until we have done everything we can for immigrants in our country who are deserving of our country’s grace and commitment to providing deserving people with the opportunity to thrive.”
He noted: “There are over 11 million undocumented people living in the United States. This country should not penalize people for pursuing the American Dream. In fact, our country benefits from immigrants’ talents, skills, abilities, and creativity.”
When the Supreme Court ruled on June 18 in a 5-4 decision that DACA could not be terminated due to a defective memorandum, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Executive Director Rita Pin Ahrens pointed out: “DACA recipients contribute $8.7 billion in taxes and represent $24 billion in spending power. Additionally, DACA recipients include 43,500 healthcare workers.”
Plan to Hurdle Obstacles
According to a December 7 Transition report in Politico, it will “take years” for Biden’s DACA and other immigration policy changes to take place. DACA, for one, will continue to face legal challenges.
The analysis, “Biden pledged to undo Trump’s immigration policies. It will take time,” noted: “A few policies can be changed on Day One. But many can only be unwound through a lengthy regulatory process, months of court battles and legislative movement.”
But it doesn’t mean Biden will not keep trying, the analysis added. He has put people with immigration policy backgrounds throughout his administration. Biden has named Latino American Alejandro Mayorkas as Department of Homeland Security secretary. Pili Tobar, who worked for the Latino Victory Project and the advocacy group America’s Voice, will become White House deputy communications director. Julie Chavez Rodriguez, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, will lead the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Previously, she helped run her grandfather foundation.
The American Dream
Former DACA recipient Partolan himself has started his path towards the American Dream. Currently, he’s an Immigration Paralegal at Kuck Baxter Immigration, LLC.
“I qualified for my job because of my extensive experience working with immigrant communities, and by previously serving as a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Accredited Representative for several years at an Atlanta nonprofit called Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta,” he said in an email interview.
Partolan was 15 months old when his parents came to the US from the Philippines in 1994. They eventually, settled in Macon, Georgia where he grew up. His parents came on legal work visas. His father, a physical therapist, was able to obtain an H-1B, or “Skilled Worker” visa.
“I have zero recollection of our initial entry,” he said. “Years went by until our applications for a green card were denied in 2003, and my family and I became undocumented.” He had two siblings born in the US. Subsequently, one of them sponsored their parents to become permanent residents.
He is grateful to Kuck Baxter Immigration, LLC. “My employer took a chance on me,” he said, “and provided me with the opportunity to better serve my community by guiding our clients through the complicated maze that is our immigration system.”
When President Trump assumed office in 2016, he called the Dreamers “incredible kids,” adding he would try to address the problem “with a heart.” (The reference is based on the Dream Act, which repeatedly failed to pass in Congress).
But in 2017, he ended the DACA program, saying Congress should address the issue. But the Republican-dominated Senate refused to consider any DACA-related legislation. Trump’s executive order to end DACA resulted in legal challenges, prompting his administration to resort to the Supreme Court.
Virginia-based lawyer and Migrant Heritage Commission Executive Director Arnedo S. Valera keeps pointing out: “As an executive order, DACA can be terminated by whoever is president. Legislation, making DACA part of the nation’s laws, is the answer.”
