By Megan Burks
Executive Order Grants DREAMers Deportation Relief, Work Permits
The big news this morning: President Obama announced an executive order that could spare hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
The new policy grants temporary legal status and work permits to immigrants younger than 30 years old whom were brought to the United States before they turned 16. To qualify, applicants must have lived in the U.S. for five years or more, have no criminal record and have proof they have or are attending school or serving in the military.
Obama called his action a “stop-gap measure” aimed at providing relief until Congress can pass a full DREAM Act, which would a provide a path to citizenship for undocumented young people.
Temporary legal status under the Obama order would last just two years, meaning approved immigrants would have to apply for renewal every two years.
See the Department of Homeland Security fact sheet on the policy here (en Español).
Follow @fronterasdesk for more on this story and reaction from DREAMers.
Bill Limiting ‘Secure Communities’ Moves Forward in Sacramento
There was more good news this week for California immigrants. The Huffington Post reported the TRUST Act passed the state Senate’s Public Safety Committee. The bill would keep law enforcement officers from calling immigration authorities on an immigrant detainee until after he or she has been convicted of a crime.
Currently under Secure Communities, law enforcement officers can share information about detainees with federal immigration authorities as soon as fingerprints are taken. Immigration officers can ask local law enforcement agencies to hold people suspected of being in the country illegally for 48 hours.
In some cases, the hold is longer than what police would typically have permission for based on the alleged crime. Critics of Secure Communities say it undermines community trust of local law enforcement agencies and has netted too many low-level offenders.
The bill must pass the Senate Appropriations Committee before moving on to the Senate floor and heading back to the Assembly for final approval.
Follow The Huffington Post’s politics team @HuffPostPol.
The Huffington Post Features City Heights Middle Schoolers
The Huffington Post also reported on City Heights this week. It featured a project by Monroe Clark Middle School students in The AjA Project program, PhotoCity.
The students were asked to take photos and comment for a Speak City Heights series on school bullying. KPBS reporter Susan Murphy helped them use the photos to map bullying incidents in and around their school.
Youth reporter Malachi Segers talked to one of the students in the program. Karina Palacios told Segers the mapping exercise helped stop bullying at the school by telling administrators which areas on campus needed more supervision.
You can see the bullying project here. AjA is working with the students again to examine how their neighborhood environment impacts safety.
Follow The AjA Project @AjAProject.
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