White House says 430,000 DREAMers have been saved from deportation

WASHINGTON  – Today, the White House marked the one year anniversary of a deferred action policy for DREAMers – children brought to the United States by illegal aliens – whereby those children may receive temporary protection from deportation if they can demonstrate that they meet several criteria.

The White House said Friday that “By removing the threat of deportation for young people brought to this country as children – known as “DREAMers” – the Department of Homeland Security has been able to focus its enforcement efforts on those who endanger our communities rather than students pursuing an education and seeking to better themselves and their communities.”

Iowa congressman Steve King has been the most vocal opponent of the new policy, saying that “For every [DREAMer] who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

The White House said Friday that because of the new policy, “hundreds of thousands of ambitious, hardworking young people have been able to emerge from the shadows, no longer living in fear of deportation. As of July 31, over 430,000 young people have received deferred action.”

President Obama said last June, “Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you’ve done everything right your entire life — studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class — only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak.”

An immigration bill that already passed the U.S. Senate is still under debate in the House of Representatives at this time.  Steve King held a really earlier this week in protest of the legislation. President Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill into law in its present form.