Piedmont Undocumented Youth Reacts to New Immigration Policy

Piedmont Undocumented Youth Reacts to New Immigration Policy

June 18, 2012 |

Some illegal immigrants across our state continue celebrating new relief from deportation. Friday, President Barack Obama announced that his administration will stop deporting undocumented youth and grant work permits for some Dream Act eligible students. One of those eligible is Yadkin County resident Giovanna Hurtado. When she was six years old, her mother brought her illegally to North Carolina from Mexico. Now 22, Hurtado says she wept when she heard President Obama's announcement, "I have survived being undocumented, pushed through the pain," she said. "And when he said it was the right thing to do it really hit home because finally someone was taking into account everything we'd been through, that finally it was a small bit being validated."

This move is not a pathway to U.S. citizenship. And critics say it will increase competition for jobs in our country. But supporters estimate that this action will add $2.3 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 years. The Dream Act, which would create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for undocumented youth, is currently stalled in Congress.

According to President Obama, this new policy will give relief to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States under the age of 16, have lived in the country for at least five years and are currently under the age of 30. They also must be either an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or armed forces, or a student who has graduated from high school or obtained a GED. Hurtado is a high school graduate and says now that she's no longer afraid of being deported she can accomplish her next goal, earning a college degree. "And once I actually have a work permit, I can look for a better job and then I'll be able to pay for my way to school." Hurtado says it'll take another two months to get the paperwork to apply for her work permit.

Immigrants are not eligible if the government determines they pose a threat to national security or public safety, have been convicted of a felony, a "significant" misdemeanor or multiple misdemeanors. This new policy also does not grant any public benefits, such as Medicare and Medicaid, to undocumented youth.