Musings on Immigration

Ever since President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") program the question has been asked in Georgia by DACA beneficiaries, can I now pay "in-state" tuition at Georgia Colleges and Universities?  The question is simple, but the answer is complicated because of the differences between "lawful status" and "lawful presence," terms that are poorly understood outside of the immigration lawyer community. Now that clarifications have been issued by the Department of Homeland Security on "lawful presence" and "lawful status" within the DACA context, it is clear that the Georgia Board of Regents must allow DACA beneficiaries to pay in-state tuition, by the words of their own policy Manual. BACKGROUND Initially when this issue percolated through the Georgia state legislature in 2010, and in order to stop actual laws from being enacted on this issue, the Georgia Board of Regents, which is tasked...

by Rebecca Rojas Recently, there has been much talk about Mitt Romney’s statement that while he would honor the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program initiated by President Obama, he would not continue it.  This has created unrest among potential applicants, but I think it is still too early to give up on the DACA program. As the program progresses, and as we begin to see the benefits it brings, I believe that it will continue in place until a more permanent solution can be implemented. The benefits of the DACA program are particularly evident in a recent conversation I had with a small town business owner. This business owner had come to talk to me to see what he could do about “Pablo.”  The man looked almost apologetic as he explained to me that while he had favored limiting immigration, he wanted to help Pablo. Pablo, he explained to me, had been brought here as a small child and, upon high school graduation, had begun to help him in his business....