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Poll: What's Your Reaction to Obama's Immigration Policy Change?

On Wednesday, the Obama adminstration announced a policy change similar to the proposed Dream Act, allowing a deferment for young undocumented immigrants.

A policy change instituted by the Obama administration this week will mean that millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. will be eligible to apply for a deferment that will allow them to stay in the country for two years without fear of deportation.

The program applies to people age 15 to 31 who came to the country before age 16 and have been here at least five years, according to the Washington Post.  Additionally, they must have no criminal convictions, and must have completed high school or have served in the U.S. military, according to the paper.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-El Monte, who represents portions of the San Gabriel Valley and is running in a new district that includes South Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre and Monrovia, was quick to praise the policy change:

Today, the Obama Administration took a remarkable first step to providing a brighter future for kids who would otherwise be penalized for their parents’ mistakes.  DREAM students are here illegally through no fault of their own.  They have been brought up as Americans, in American schools, and are every bit as deserving of an education as anyone else who calls this country home.

I am truly excited about what the Administration’s new policy will mean for the over 10,000 DREAMers in my district alone, and my office is available to help with any questions or concerns that they may have.

We want to know what you think of the change: will it have a big impact on Southern California?  Would you approve of further changes to immigration policy or do you think this move already went too far?

Please vote in our poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Apache August 17, 2012 at 02:54 pm
This has NOTHING to do with the cartels. These are normal people like you and I that are apart of our community. Sounds like Mr. Crandell is a little misinformed so here is a list of information about who is eligible and who is not.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f2ef2f19470f7310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f2ef2f19470f7310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD 1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; 3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time; 4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS; 5. Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012; 6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and 7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.
Apache August 17, 2012 at 02:56 pm
This program isn't for the day workers at home depot. This is for
children and young adults. I'm convinced that after you actually read what it's about your view will change.
Lou Irigoyen August 17, 2012 at 03:12 pm
I remember singing a song as a kid that went something like this "this land is your land this land is my land from California to the New York Island..........this land was made for you and me" you get the gist.
Apache August 17, 2012 at 03:20 pm
Well said, Lou.
michele Zack August 17, 2012 at 03:58 pm
You are right, and no matter that we were not here when past events happened, history doesn't simply go away because people living today didn't cause it. The United States conquered Mexico in a war of aggression that it started/justified on a false pretense (that Mexico had "attacked" it). The US preceded to ignore many aspects of the peace treaty it signed guaranteeing citizenship and land rights to conquered Mexicans still living here. So who is illegal? Who is the alien? And what purpose does it serve to deny children the right to learn, work, and contribute their talents to the place they call home.
Anita August 17, 2012 at 05:05 pm
Hey! We had a war, they lost, end of story!
Lou Irigoyen August 17, 2012 at 05:15 pm
It's too bad that this illegal immigrant topic is such "front burner" material. I wonder what it would be like if social security, unemployment, education, pollution and healthcare were more "front burner"? Just wishful thinking I guess.
Jones Foyer August 17, 2012 at 05:37 pm
I'm pretty sure Woody Guthrie was stating that he personally wanted to seize control of the country. It was well known that he was hoarding weapons and building hundreds of tanks at the time of his death.
Just kidding.
califmom August 17, 2012 at 05:59 pm
I wonder why our government has not taken a hard line with the government of Mexico to clean up its act with regard to the cartels. Also, why hasn't our government provided aid (now I'm just sayin'--I don't have time to look it up, guys) to Mexico to get industry going there to make jobs for their people so they don't HAVE to come here for jobs? Really, if you were Mexican wouldn't you rather stay there? I'm not in favor of aid, but the hard reality is that we DO give out billions all over the world. Why not make it pay off?
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:06 pm
@Dan, I don't need to fight the battle. I bring it up to show that we are not as clean and innocent as some might suggest.
Among those integral in the overthrow were members of the California & Hawaii Sugar Company (AKA C&H), and many in the sugar industry started out on the islands as missionaries. These are the folks that are waging the battle and continue to protest http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24394676/ns/us_news-life/t/native-hawaiians-take-over-palace-honolulu/ Here is Queen Liliuokolani's protestation before Congress. http://www.freehawaii.org/liliuoprotest.html Here is Congress's usurpation of Hawaii (note, we recently apologized) http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=54&page=transcript You ought to go Dan. Went 4 or 5 years in a row, last year taking my grandson for 2 weeks. He lamented we didn't go this year and is determined to go back.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:10 pm
@Anita, some part of the story seems to perpetuate with the cartels and citizens across the border. Mexico in parts is absolutely gorgeous. My son and his wife got married in Cancun. But I flew in and flew out because it is simply not safe. I traveled with alerts from the State Department, the Embassy number in several places, and even had pictures of the currency to make sure I wasn't ripped off. If we didn't act like Ugly Americans in better places, I do believe we would be treated better. Most I encounter from across the border are wonderful people. I speak Spanish fluently, and I do when I travel and here in my day to day. It's all about recognizing humanity and treating one another with respect, and that we're not all enemies.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:11 pm
Sorry, drop the word better places. My fingers and my brain had a race, and my fingers won.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:20 pm
Speaking of Romney, you recognize, of course, that he has ties to Mexico and that there is illegal immigration within his own family. His relatives fled to Mexico a hundred years ago to escape persecution for polygamy and intermarried with native born Mexicans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-besieged-mormon-colony-mitt-romneys-mexican-roots/2011/07/21/gIQAFGOXVI_story.html
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:34 pm
Just for the record, I have a maiden name that is Polish. In my lifetime, it was perfectly correct to tell jokes in just about any public venue that demeaned my ancestors because, when the came to this country they were different than other populations that had already arrived. Those jokes originally had their ties to "moron jokes" and were reconfigured as to whomever was the "undesired newcomer."
It bears remembering that, in the 1930s, something called the Mexican Repatriation took place. Legally born Americans of Mexican descent were evicted from their homes and shipped to Mexico without cause. Their only crime was that they had Mexican ancestry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Repatriation. We then added to this travesty when we grabbed the land around Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine to build a ballpark while evicting a whole community of people, again, mostly of Mexican American descent. We do this kind of ugliness when jobs are tight, an there is a fear that someone will take something away from us. So, we take from them first. http://webs.rps205.com/curriculum/ssandvoc/MexicanDeportation.html
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:39 pm
I cannot remember the name of the movie that came out in the last year that had the Navy Seals in it, and I may be confusing my movies here, but there was one that showed how weaponry being transited through the cartels that were being used against us and could be cause for mass annihilation. After seeing the issues of the cartels, my thoughts were we were fighting a war in the wrong place. Things are so bad in Mexico that the cartels proliferate. The cartels are bad. The average Mexican is not. These children we are talking about are not the cartels.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 06:41 pm
For the record, more than a dozen years ago, I volunteered for an event at the Convention Center that helped people fill out paperwork to apply for citizenship. After I read everything they are required to do and could not do, I thought a lot of Americans could no more pass a citizenship test than they could flap their arms and fly to the moon. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
califmom August 17, 2012 at 08:26 pm
Gayle, as an American of Irish descent, I don't take offense at the "drunken Irish" jokes that proliferate now; I think we may have a genetic problem with alcohol. I do get a little annoyed at dumb blonde jokes. I agree with the difficulty of the citizenship test. I think it should be required of every graduating HS senior as well. I am seriously in favor of discontinuing the practice of printing ballots in languages other than English.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 08:30 pm
Hello, Cousin. One of my branches also emanates from Ireland. I don't mind an occasional joke, especially when shared among friends or family (my family on the Polish side is made up with real pranksters). What I don't like is when it is intended to be mean spirited. There was a whole rash of these jokes back then, and they were publically shared as though it was ok to make a group of people feel badly. It's one thing when you're an adult. This happened when I was a kid. Kids repeat what their parents say, and when you're dealing with all the other angst that goes with adolescence, you don't need to throw these other biases in there.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 17, 2012 at 08:32 pm
And I'm close to agreeing with you on the other language issues in print. I rather think, if you're a citizen, you probably should be able to read English, and I thought learning English was a requirement of citizenship, though that may have changed. There are times when having signs in multiple languages may be a health or safety issue. I just don't like signs that aren't at least subtitled in English. Some, due to my language studies, I can read, others not so much.
gsuburban August 17, 2012 at 09:07 pm
We should ask for a break next time a traffic stop is made. All the natives do is supply illegals with a roof, bed and job.
gsuburban August 17, 2012 at 09:11 pm
Enough rant folks, vote the idiot out this time. And, for all of you who do not believe your vote counts, you are the ones who allow such pricks take office ! Get off the couch or tennis court and Vote. Either that or leave the U.S.A.
B.O. Bailey August 18, 2012 at 09:09 am
Thank you, gsusuburban, I thought that President Obama had advanced college degrees & the word prick is something a thorn would do. If the DREAM ACT students were all from East Europe and looked like--us(!!??) no one would say boo! The first and only Monrovia resident killed in the Iraq War was granted his citizenship after he died. Which of you t-party people want to dig up his grave and ship it back to Mexico?
erhan yildiz August 18, 2012 at 01:08 pm
Erhan Yildiz
This country name will be change next 20 years EL USA. No more American left,any bussiness i go this days no more Hi,OLA...
Dan Crandell August 18, 2012 at 01:46 pm
@b.o.b We have not, to my knowledge, been invaded by 20 million Eastern European's. That young man was in this country legally with his parents. How dare you disrespect his parents and his memory in such a callus manner. Shame on you B.O.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 18, 2012 at 02:30 pm
Bueno, Erhan. Porque piensa used como asi que el nombre de Los Estados Unidos va estar cambiado? Estoy preguntandole esta porque yo pienso que esto era escrito de algun que quiere que nosotros vamos estar enojados. So who are you really, Dude, and why did you say something so silly? This attempt to use poor English so as to bait the audience into presuming our country is under siege is immature and typical of someone who wants to perpetuate bigotry by saying something that would agitate one group against another. Ojala que tiene un buen dia y que lastima que hay gente en este mundo que hace cosas como asi. Will translate if needed. By the way, Homes, it is Hola, not Ola.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 18, 2012 at 02:35 pm
Dan, ask the indigenous people about that European invasion. I think they would beg to differ.
Gayle M. Montgomery August 18, 2012 at 02:46 pm
I think germane to this discussion is the history of immigration and I immigration laws and trends. Many of those proud Anglo Saxons actually got here as indentured servants, the next best thing to slavery, look at how we turned our back on Europeans trying to escape Hitler. Horrific conditions like those being experienced in Mexico were happening and we became prejudiced and locked people in needed of amnesty out. Also look at the statistics regarding legal immigration, items one and two. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States
Apache August 18, 2012 at 02:54 pm
Hey Mr. Crandell, have you taken the time to read the fine print of DACA? If so, I'm curious if your opinion on it has changed in any way after reading it.
Thanks
Marvion August 18, 2012 at 03:01 pm
gayle = fail lolz http://www████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████.com
Gayle M. Montgomery August 18, 2012 at 03:48 pm
The only thing that failed, Marvion was your link. Were you carvion it up? Both in email and on the Patch, it is not coming through. What was your point?

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