US Deportation Dilemma: Who Goes? Who Stays?

At first glance, deportation policy seems like a simple matter. If someone has broken the law and come to the United States illegally, that person should be deported back to his or her own country.

A closer look reveals some difficult questions. Should parents be separated from their children? If someone entered illegally as a child, should they be allowed to stay? What about criminals who are a threat to public safety?

Even as President Barack Obama has been criticized for deporting 5 million undocumented residents -- an all-time high -- he has sought to address some of those knotty questions with respect to the approximately 11.3 million people living in the United States illegally.

Undocumented Parents and Their Legal Children

Take parents, for example. President Obama issued an executive order in November 2014 that would allow up to 4.4 million undocumented residents to stay in the United States because they are the parents of children who are either U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Under the president’s new policy, parents could pay a $465 fee and apply for deportation relief. Essentially, that prevents the separation of undocumented parents from their children.

The plan hit a snag recently when a Texas judge stopped the president’s order from going into effect after 26 states sued in federal court. As a result, many people who had already filed their papers in hopes of gaining deportation relief are now living in uncertainty. They must decide whether to continue with the paperwork, hoping that the judge’s injunction is lifted, or halt the process and once again live in fear of being deported and separated from their children.

That’s where Wilfredis Ayala, born in El Salvador and now living in New York, found himself, according to a National Public Radio report. The father of a five-year-old son, Ayala was caught trespassing on private property and sent to a detention center after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detected his unauthorized status. He was released under the deferred action program for parents, but now that policy has been put on hold.

That left him living in limbo, even as he faced his next interview with ICE.

While offering some benefit, the deferred action program is hardly a free ride to citizenship. Applicants must pass a criminal background check and pay all their taxes. The protection from deportation lasts for three years.

Dreaming of Citizenship

President Obama has also tried to address the issue of unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the United States when they were younger than 16. The deferred action for childhood arrivals program halted deportation for people under 30 who met certain criteria. It allowed them to seek legal status that permits them to work, go to college and obtain a driver’s license. First implemented in 2012, the policy was set to be expanded to cover more young people this year.

Many immigrant-rights activists supported the president’s policy, as did young undocumented immigrants who called themselves DREAMers, a name taken from proposed legislation that would have granted them a path to citizenship. The bill failed to get through Congress, leading President Obama to circumvent the legislative process and implement a new policy through executive action. This drew criticism from some who oppose immigration reform,

Generally, opponents object to the deferred action for childhood arrivals because they believe such policies encourage more people to come to the United States illegally and represent a reward -- rather than punishment -- for illegal behavior.

As of 2014, more than one-half million young people received work permits and protection from deportation under the program.

The case of Jose Vargas illustrates the DREAMers’ dilemma. Vargas arrived illegally from the Philippines at age 12. At age 16, he learned he was not a U.S. citizen when he wanted to apply for a California driver’s license. He managed to hide his illegal status and obtain work as a journalist, eventually becoming a top reporter at the Washington Post; he was on a team of reporters who received a Pulitzer Prize.

In 2011, he decided to make his struggle public in order to advocate for the DREAMers’ cause. Ironically, when the president’s new policy for childhood arrivals went into effect in 2012, Vargas was one year too old to qualify. Since then, Vargas has become an activist for immigrant rights. Reportedly, he was detained by immigration authorities last year at an airport in Texas but was released after several hours.

Deport Felons Not Families

Even as questions swirl around the issue of who gets deported and why, both ICE and the White House have a clear priority reflected in the administration’s slogan, “deport felons not families.” In 2014, ICE reported that more than half of all deportations were convicted criminals. That number includes criminals apprehended inside the country and those attempting to cross the border. ICE also deported more than 2,000 gang members last year.

Altogether in 2014, ICE reported 314,943 deportations. Of the 137,983 individuals who had no criminal conviction, 89 percent were captured at or near the border as they attempted to unlawfully enter the country. Most of those deported came from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

While those countries represent the majority, ICE deportations include individuals from all over the world. In a recent operation, ICE took into custody 48 alien criminals in Philadelphia, The individuals had been convicted of crimes ranging from forgery to sex offenses, and they came from places such as Nigeria and Cambodia.

In all, the approach to deportation attempts to create a nuanced policy that cracks down on convicted criminals who are threats to public security but seeks some leniency for unauthorized immigrants who came to the United States to work, raise a family and find a better life.