White House HONORS 10 young illegal immigrants in ceremony despite flood of children crossing border



On June 15, 2012 President Barack Obama ordered immigration officials to stop deporting illegal immigrants under the age of 31 who had lived in the U.S. for the last five years continuously, had no criminal record and had come to the U.S. when they were under the age of 16

Today the White House held an event to honor 10 young people who benefited from Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program

The young people are being commended for their 'exemplary leadership in their communities'

The event comes as the president's policy shift is being blasted for encouraging a flood of children to illegally immigrate to the U.S. from Central America

The White House held an event this morning to honor a group of young illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. when they were children as 'Champions of Change'.



The ceremony was intended to highlight the 'success stories' of the president's two-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program that allowed young adults who came to the U.S. illegally when they were 16 or under to stay in America indefinitely.

The timing of the event may cause alarm over the mixed signals being sent out from the White House after recent reports revealed that the U.S. border with Mexico has seen a huge increase in the number of children crossing illegally in the hope of starting a life in the US.

This morning the White House held an event to honor a group of 10 young illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. when they were children as 'Champions of Change'

Up to 400 children a day are pouring over the U.S. border with Mexico, many of whom are unaccompanied by adults. The president's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is being blamed for this humanitarian crisis

Chart shows the number of unaccompanied children (age 17 or younger) apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol, fiscal years 2008-2014; statistics show a dramatic increase in children coming across the U.S.-Mexico border since 2012

Since the DACA memorandum was issued, young people from Central American countries have scrambled to enter the U.S. illegally even though they are not eligible for amnesty.



To be considered for deferred action, individuals must have been in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 when the memo was issued and lived in the U.S. continuously since for five years.



DACA clearly states the eligibility requirements for deferment, however, children and teenagers, coming primarily from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, have poured into the United States throughout the last two years.



The flood of unaccompanied minors coming in through the border has become 'an urgent humanitarian situation' President Barack Obama said recently, and over the weekend the White House announced that Vice President Joe Biden would travel to Guatemala to meet with senior representatives of Central American countries to clear up 'misconceptions' about the deferred action program.



A senior White House official told reporters on a conference call Sunday night that a stop in Guatemala had been added to Biden's trip to Latin America at the last minute so he could meet with senior representatives of the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to discuss the 'root causes' behind the mass migrations.



The 10 young people who were honored at today's event for 'exemplary leadership in their communities' all came from other countries and not all of them are Hispanic.



The young people that are now crossing the U.S. border with Mexico illegally are not eligible for the president's deferred action program, yet floods are them are coming anyway because of 'misconceptions' about the policy

Rhustie Marcelo Valdizno immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 15.

He is currently a student at Bergen Community College in New Jersey and is a leader of Revolutionizing Asian American Immigrant Stories on the East Coast (RAISE). Valdizno hopes to attend med school and become a doctor some day.



Pratishtha Khanna came to the U.S. from New Delhi, India when she was 10. She is a senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who is majoring in biology and also plans to attend medical school.



Khanna has been an active advocate of the DACA and the DREAM Act legislation that would provide amnesty to illegal immigrants who came here as children and completed college or served in the military.



Esther Yu Hsi Lee's parents brought her to California from Taiwan when she was a child. She is currently the immigration reporter for progressive think tank Center for American Progress's online publication Think Progress.



Of the other seven young people being commended as role models, one recipient is from Morocco, and another is from Columbia. The other five honorees came to the U.S. from Mexico.



Throughout the Obama administration the White House has honored Champions of Change in areas it has deemed legislative and political priorities such as clean energy, transportation, infrastructure, and healthcare reform.

