Illegal immigrants may reduce time separated from family in US under Obama proposal
Luna Vizguerra, 7, kisses her sister Zury, 5 months, in their apartment on July 11, 2011 in Aurora, Colorado. The girls, both U.S. born American citizens, are daughters of undocumented Mexican immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra, facing a deportation hearing July 13 at Denver’s Federal Courthouse. Vizguerra’s request for a work visa that would allow her to pursue legal citizenship was denied.
Illegal immigrants in the US will be able to reduce the amount of time they must remain out of the country while applying for legal status under changes to be announced Friday by the Obama administration.
The move is "aimed at keeping families intact and one that may also shore up the president's support with Latino voters," according to the LA Times.
The change would benefit US citizens who are married to or have children who are illegal immigrants, according to The New York Times, correcting "a bureaucratic Catch-22 that those Americans now confront when their spouses or children apply to become legal permanent residents".
As it stands, people living in the US illegally must leave the country to apply for a green card. Once they leave they are barred from returning for at least three — and up to 10 — years, separated from family members still in the US.
Under the changes, the LA Times wrote:
They can claim that their absence would pose a hardship for their spouse or parent and ask the Department of Homeland Security to waive the re-entry restrictions.
The illegal immigrants still must go home to finish the visa process, according to the Associated Press. However, a waiver could reduce the time an illegal immigrant is out of the country.
Most waiver applications are filed in Ciudad Juarez on the US-Mexico border, the LA Times reported, citing the Immigration Policy Center.
It noted that:
A State Department travel advisory issued last year said the murder rate in Ciudad Juarez was the highest in Mexico. It urged people to "defer non-essential travel" to that city.
The Times wrote that the steps to getting a green card for some illegal immigrants was "so fraught with risks" that many families simply decided to live in hiding and never apply.
The change is one of a number of measures the Obama administration has taken in recent months that do not require the approval of Congress.