The Obama Administration announced today that they will be making great chances to immigration in America. Thousands of illegal immigrants who fear the possibility of deportation will no longer have to worry under this new policy. Obama’s new rule says that they will be reforming immigration law by loosening standards and letting more people off the hook. The New York Times says that republicans were quick to criticize this ruling. However, Obama replied to critics that Congress had not yet been able to fix the broken system and that this new mandate will help to minimize difficulty, controversy, and injustice in this area.

The policy was effective immediately and applies to all people that are under 30 and arrived in the U.S. before they turned 16 years old. People who want to be excused from deportation also most have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years and have no criminal record. To be protected, people must have a high school diploma, currently be in school, or have served in the military. All of these qualifications mirror the requirements which were proposed in Obama’s DREAM Act. His measure was blocked by Congress back in 2010, but like this act it aimed to protect illegal immigrants in a certain age bracket.

The new policy doesn’t give these immigrants citizenship, even though it protects them from deportation. Instead, the qualified persons will be given a two-year “deferred action’ that removes the threats of deportation and can have repeated extensions in the future. With the deferral, an immigrant can apply for a work permit. About 800,000 people are expected to be affected by the new measure. Many teens and young adults who have heard about this new law are emotional and thankful. One teen told the New York Times that she is so grateful that she won’t need to be fearful when driving around her neighborhood anymore. She always worried that as an undocumented citizen she would be prosecuted and ripped from her home to send back to her country of origin.

This decision highlights the fact that Obama values Latino voters in the 2012 election. Many of the swing states have high Hispanic populations and Obama hopes that by granting those immigrants this special privilege he will be able to secure their votes. However, this new policy could be reversed in the future by a new administration. It could also be altered. A future government might enhance the laws and allow undocumented workers citizenship if they meet a specific list of qualifications. A lot of immigrants are elated about the new policies, but are being careful. They want to see the immigration practices implemented before they get their hopes up.

This new ruling will let many people who are currently in the courts off the hook. The government will give more focus to immigrants that are a threat to society because of a criminal act, because they believe that these are the people who shouldn’t be allowed in America. Obama commended on the policy by saying that if we want to make America a destination for talent from all over the world were don’t deport responsible and hardworking immigrants. He says that he wants to let these immigrants grow up in the economy and contribute to society. These new policies aim to do just that.

The decision to make such an instant change to immigration policy stems from the fact that Obama said that the government can’t wait on this issue. With more and more people heading to immigration court, he wanted to nip injustice in the bud right away. If you are involved in an immigration court case, this new policy could drastically change your circumstances. An immigration attorney will be able to give you more information.