Wednesday marks start of Obama immigration actions

Alan Gomez and Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Thousands of undocumented immigrants will begin applying Wednesday for President Obama's program to allow them to stay and work legally in the USA.

Or maybe not.

The first phase of Obama's plan to protect up to 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation is mired in uncertainty as congressional Republicans try to derail the program through legislation and state leaders try to block it in federal court.

The congressional battle could lead to a partial government shutdown. GOP leaders are trying to halt the president's plan through a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which will run out of money Feb. 27. In the legal battle, a federal judge in Texas is likely to rule any day on a request by 26 Republican state leaders to block the president's order.

"In the face of lawsuits and the congressional debacle on DHS funding, it does create confusion," said Arnulfo De La Cruz, director of the Immigrant Justice Campaign for the Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles. "But we're working to get the word out that the president's executive action is moving forward."

Obama announced in November that he would protect up to 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The first part of that program, scheduled to start Wednesday, is an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Obama created in 2012 for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. If they meet certain criteria, such as having a clean criminal record and graduating from a U.S. high school, they could be protected from deportation and apply for work permits. More than 600,000 immigrants have been approved.

That program was limited to people under 31. The president eliminated that cap in December, opening the door for about 300,000 more immigrants who were brought to the country as children.

The other part of the president's action would offer protection from deportation for up to three years and work permits for the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. Applications for that program are likely to begin in late May. Altogether, Obama's executive actions would benefit about 4 million undocumented immigrants living in the USA.

Undocumented immigrants around the country are digging up their old high school transcripts, finding old pay stubs and organizing their paperwork for the new application process.

"I will no longer have to leave home every morning wondering whether I'll make it back or not," said Adriana Salas, 23, who came to the USA at age 5, attends community college in Scottsdale, Ariz., and dreams of becoming a doctor. "I want to be able to work legally and give my family a better life. In my heart, I am already a U.S. citizen."

For Ivan Reyes, it means putting aside the landscaping business he's been running and finally finding work as a computer technician. At 34, Reyes was too old to qualify for the president's 2012 program, leaving him undocumented and unable to find a job in the field he had studied for.

"Nobody would hire me because I didn't have those papers," said Reyes of Apopka, Fla. "Now I'll be able to finish my career."

Applicants must pay a $465 fee to apply for the DACA program. The House passed a bill in January that would prevent the Department of Homeland Security from using those fees — or any other federal funds — to implement Obama's latest immigration actions. Republicans view the president's executive orders on immigration as an unconstitutional power grab.

The House-approved bill stalled in the Senate after Democrats, independents and Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada united to block it three times this month. Democrats say Obama is well within his rights to issue executive orders on immigration, especially since the House failed to pass an immigration bill in the last Congress. In 2013, the Senate passed a sweeping, bipartisan bill that would have increased border security while providing a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the USA, but the House never acted on it.

Homeland Security funding is set to expire Feb. 27 if Congress cannot reach an agreement. The department, which includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Customs and Border Protection, would face a partial shutdown. About 80% or more of its employees are essential and would still have to report for work, but they would not be paid.

Republicans and Democrats are already blaming each other for the potential shutdown.

"The Senate Democrats are blocking the ability to even debate the bill," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on Fox News Sunday, adding that he was "certainly" prepared to allow a shutdown. "The House has done its job. ... Senate Democrats are the ones standing in the way. They're the ones jeopardizing funding."

Democrats say Republicans are willing to sacrifice the nation's security to appease their right wing on immigration.

"While Republicans are trying to sue the president or play legislative games with the budget of the Department of Homeland Security, Democrats are going to protect American families and get people ready to sign up," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who is touring the nation to encourage immigrants to sign up for Obama's programs.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said she believes the president's program will move forward. "There's almost nothing they can do legislatively, unless they want to shut down the Department of Homeland Security," she said. "And even in terms of legislation, the law is so well-established that it is inevitable that these programs are going to be implemented."