Obama's
Executive Order Could Affect Up to 900,000 Florida
Immigrants
Posted November 21, 2014 08:55 am
MIAMI,
FL– "What's next?" is the question on the minds of
thousands of Floridians today after President Obama's
announcement Thursday night of an executive order
regarding the future of as many as 5 million
undocumented immigrants.
As many as 900,000 people living in Florida could be affected, according to the Urban Institute.
While the order delaying deportations isn't a permanent fix, said Cheryl Little, executive director of Americans for Immigrant Justice, it's at least a temporary reprieve.
"Those who are eligible will be able to apply for a work permit," she said. "In Florida, they can get a driver's license and, at least for some time, won't have to worry about whether or not there's going to be that knock on the door."
Obama said he will work with lawmakers on a
bipartisan, comprehensive bill of permanent changes for
the immigration system. He is being criticized by some
who feel this executive order is an abuse of power, with
some Republicans in Congress vowing to do what they can
to impede the president's action.
Even as advocates for the immigrant community welcomed
some progress, they said they're also seeking more
permanent answers to keep families together, said Kica
Matos, director of immigrant rights and racial justice
for the Center for Community Change.
"We will celebrate this victory. We will welcome it with
open arms, and so, we will be out of the streets today,"
she said. "And guess what we're going to do on Monday?
We're going to go back to the hard work of continuing to
fight for a permanent solution."
Little said she believes the next hurdle for immigration
reform will be actually enforcing the protection offered
by the president's order.
"My concern," she said, "is that, while this
announcement I think is going to be great news to a lot
of people, are we going to live to see the day when it's
actually able to move forward in a fair and timely
manner?"
The Urban Institute estimates that Florida's population
of undocumented workers accounts for about 10 percent of
the total in the United States.
Photos/graphics and
links added by the Observer
Photos:
The Immigration Project; the President courtesy of
the White House
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