One year ago today, immigrant rights activists and leaders celebrated a victory when President Obama finally heard our pleas and took bold action to make key changes to immigration policies and practices.
Under the policies, we were promised that:
- More undocumented family members, including eligible parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and more Dreamers, would be able to apply for deferred action that would grant them temporary relief from deportation and work authorization.
- The Administration would examine ways to improve our legal immigration system so that families waiting in the visa backlog could reunite more quickly. As it stands now, when U.S. citizens sponsor family members from Asian countries, it can take decades to join with loved ones in the U.S.
Unfortunately, on this anniversary, we have little to celebrate as families are still waiting for relief. The federal courts have blocked deportation relief, and we still await recommendations on how the administration plans to alleviate the visa backlog, which disproportionately impacts immigrants from Asian countries.
Today, Advancing Justice - LA submitted a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, relaying the impact of executive action on Asian Americans and additional recommendations for action on part of the Administration.
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