Ruling leaves immigrant families disillusioned

Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz.

Brenda Armendariz, her husband and their two Mexico-born children were hoping to resolve their constant fears of being deported after President Barack Obama issued his latest executive orders on immigration.

But now that a federal judge in Texas has blocked Obama’s efforts to protect four million more immigrants, her family is disillusioned and her children feel stuck as the president’s offer of temporary legal status moves frustratingly beyond their reach.

About a third of the immigrants now living in the United States illegally would be eligible for temporary protection if Obama’s latest orders are upheld in court, either because they were brought to the U.S. as children or because their own children have legal status in the country.

But the advances and retreats on reform have been so frequent over the years that many thousands of immigrants who are already eligible for protection have given up for now — they aren’t applying for the work permits and Social Security numbers they are entitled to under Obama’s first executive order in 2012.

There are a litany of reasons why, including general distrust of the government, fear they’ll be deported, and the nearly $500 in fees it costs to apply. But the constant uncertainty created by Washington’s political divide also keeps them away.

About 150 people have reached out to Arizona immigration attorney Lance Wells this week, reacting with bafflement, fear and dismay to the latest reversal, he said. His message: “Be patient, guys. We kind of knew this would be coming.”

But their patience is wearing thin.

Armendariz and her husband came to Tucson a decade ago with a son and daughter, meaning to stay just long enough to earn some cash and head home to the Mexican state of Sonora. Instead, they overstayed their visas and settled down. Those children are now 21 and 13, joined by two American-citizen siblings: a 3-year-old boy and a 1-month-old girl.

Like so many other immigrants, this family has “mixed status,” and the mother, father and two oldest children didn’t qualify for protection under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, nearly three years ago.

With the goal of keeping such families together, Obama’s executive orders announced in November would have applied to the older siblings starting Wednesday, and the parents starting in May.