In response to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration announced last week, the Berkshire Immigrant Center is reaching out to undocumented immigrants in the region who may be affected by the deferred deportations. More than 50 people showed up for the center’s workshop Tuesday at Berkshire Community College.With the aid of Spanish interpreter Elisa Fuller, Hilary Greene of the Berkshire Immigrant Center explained President Obama’s actions, which defer deportation for some five million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
“The idea behind this is that people who have entered the country, are here without documentation [and] are law-abiding, should not have to live in fear,” said Greene.
The creation of the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability—or DAPA—program is expected to affect 4.4 million undocumented immigrants. To qualify, one must be the parent of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, must have been living in the U.S. for the past five years and must pass criminal background checks. Luis Herrera came to the U.S. from Mexico in 2003 with his wife and two children who are now 16 and 14. With a two and a half-year-old who was born in the U.S., Herrera hopes he and his wife can qualify for DAPA.
“My first reaction was complete happiness,” Herrera said. “All kind of questions came into my mind. I’m thinking well we’ve been waiting for this opportunity for too many years and finally this opportunity comes up and we want to get it.”
The federal government expects to start taking applications for the parental program in the spring. The Berkshire Immigrant Center warns people not to give money or information to others claiming to be a lawyer offering to help them with the process. For the time being, the center suggests gathering documents that prove one’s identity, relationship to a child and proof of residence in the U.S.
German Gomez left Mexico in 2004 with his wife and son and began working in a restaurant in Columbia County. They’ve had two kids since. Gomez says he was excited to hear President Obama’s announcement, but is unsure if he will qualify.
“I left two years ago because my father die and when I tried coming back I got deported [by] immigration,” said Gomez.
Gomez tried getting back into the U.S. He made it on his fourth try. He says he followed electrical lines north. To survive, he took a bottle out of a person’s trash and filled it up with water from dogs’ drinking bowls and garden hoses. After walking for 26 hours he was able to get ahold of relatives and complete the journey to New York and to his son.
“He come to me and look at me and said ‘Oh you came back,’” Gomez recalled holding back tears. “That made it feel real. I’m home.”
The president’s actions do not provide a path to citizenship and hinge on his time in office, which ends in 2017. Still, Luis Herrera is hopeful he can eventually become an American citizen.
“That’s my big dream,” Herrera said. “If you try to follow the rules, you are paying your taxes and you try to support the economy in this country, it can be great.”
President Obama says his actions will also strengthen America’s borders and expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program - removing the age cap, expanding permits from two to three years and covering people who have lived in the U.S. since 2010. The previous date was 2007. The Berkshire Immigrant Center estimates 200 to 400 people in the county may qualify for these programs. The center is offering weekly workshops and assistance to provide accurate information, according to Hilary Greene.
“Because if someone has an issue from their past and they come forward they might be turning themselves in essentially,” Greene said. “So a thing they think is going to be really great for them could turn really bad. So I think that the education piece about knowing what the process is going to be, how to get help, getting thoroughly screened to make sure that someone is eligible and that there are no red flag issues is going to be really important.”
