Law professor explains new policy on young undocumented immigrants

A new policy of the Obama administration allowing some young undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States without fear of deportation will enable them apply for work permits, obtain driver’s licenses and not be subjected to Arizona’s immigration-enforcement law, according to law professor Evelyn Cruz.

“These individuals will not be subject to either (part of SB 1070),” Cruz told reporter Alia Beard Rau of The Arizona Republic. “It’s an indirect impact.”

In Rau’s June 15 article, entitled, “Governor says policy amounts to ‘back-door amnesty,’” it was reported that the president’s announcement adds a new level of complication to the law. A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit challenging SB 1070 is expected by the end of June.

“What the federal government is now saying is, ‘If you turn over to us a young person who has grown up in the United States who is what they call a “dreamer,” we are not going to do anything against them,’” said Cruz, Director of the College of Law’s Immigration Law & Policy Clinic.

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