Hollywood Popular Artists

Jun 15th 2012, 21:29

"Immigration" is a buzz word during election years, and today the Obama Administration announced a policy change that has to do with it. Many young people who moved to America illegally with their parents are now being offered a way to stay in the country instead of being forced to leave. They'd be granted work permits and be allowed to legally hold jobs.

There are some specific requirements. The young people involved must have moved to America before the age of sixteen, they must have lived here at least five years, they must be under the age of thirty as of today (it's June 15 in case you don't have a calender by you!) They also must be in school, in the military, or have graduated. Also, anyone wanting to work with this new policy has to be law-abiding (obvi) and they must not pose any sort of security or criminal threat. 'Kay, got all that?

This doesn't automatically make the young people citizens, but it does give them a two-year deferral. The policy might impact as many as 800,000 young people.

Later in the day, President Obama spoke to explain his decision and what it means. He called for the passing of the DREAM Act, a proposal with a similar idea that has been blocked by Republicans in congress. Why a block? There's a concern over the economy since there are not enough jobs out there for American citizens as it is. "I think the action that the president took today makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution because an executive order of course is just a short-term matter," said Mitt Romney.

The prez said that he chose to make this policy change to "make it more fair," pointing out all the young people who study in American schools and pledge allegiance to the American flag, but who aren't considered Americans because of paperwork. They moved because their parents moved and they may not even remember the country they came from or speak the language, but they're being punished for a situation they can't control. President Obama asked his audience to put themselves in their shoes and imagine what it'd be like to do everything right in your life but still face deportation to a country you might not know anything about.

"It is the right thing to do," he said about his policy change. Do you agree? Weigh in our poll below!

Do you agree with the Obama Administation's Immigration Plan?

Media files:
ObamaSpeaks-Post.jpg (image/jpeg)
ObamaSpeaks-Feature.jpg (image/jpeg)
ObamaSpeaks-Post-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)