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Emmanuel Lara
Professor Taylor
English 1A
09 April 2015
Awaiting: Hope and Prosperity for the Reform
It is April 8, 2015, according to my iPod it is currently 5:20 pm and I am still speedwalking home. My stomach aches from what I happened to have ate earlier today so I begin to
slow down. As I cross across the street on 4th and Soto I look around, why are there students out
this late? It had been a norm for these middle school and high school students to have arrived
home by now. I look at a light post. On it there is information regarding DACA and DAPA,
Should I take a picture and bring it to class? I ponder. Nah, just continue walking and get
home quickly before the aches get even worse.
I sit down and see that the news are on and my parents are dining together, I go to the
other room and proceed to talking with my brother. When suddenly, the immigration reform is a
topic being discussed on T.V. The congress has yet to make a decision and there is still no date
as to when they will gather together and finish the discussion it states in Spanish. Pinche bola
de huebones! my father screams (What a bunch of lazy-asses!). When will they gather
together and finally settle it once and for all. I couldnt agree any more with my father.
The immigration reform has been a legislation that has been awaited upon since 2013.
We, the people of the United States, elected President Obama in the year 2012 and it is already
2015; meaning there is one year left before the end of his term. How is it that this issue has been

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put off for 3 years already, and even though its been 3 years Congress still is unable to decide
what to votethis is simply time being wasted. Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and
Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) is the current issue at hand and needs to obtain as much
attention as possible; How much longer will we stand here waiting for a ruling to come, another
4 years? We need for Congress to gather together and finally decide, they should be unable to
leave until a vote been obtained.
To begin, in this essay the word alien will not be used, instead the term
undocumented will take its place, this is due to the fact that many undocumented individual
find the term alien is to offensive and discriminatory. The term alien carries with it a
negative connotation and offers the perspective that any individual defined by that term is an
outsider even if that same individual might have been raised in the United States after birth,
therefore the term alien is both discriminatory and offensive, and will not be used. The term
immigration reform is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current
immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform" means to change into an
improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses (Google). In other
words, immigration reform is a term utilized by the political parties of a country when discussing
the issue of immigration and the change that is to come.
DAPA is the current issue at hand which allows for undocumented parents who have
lived in the United States prior to January 1, 2010 and have children that are residents of the
United States, to be eligible to obtain work permits and not be deported (DAPA & Expanded
DACA). DAPA lasts for 3 years and the paperwork must then be filed once again in order to
obtain legal residency once again. The reason as to why DAPA is so important at the moment, is
because many undocumented individuals are working under the radar; they are set to work under

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terrible working conditions, paid terribly (they are paid under minimum wage), and have no
other choice other than to deal with these circumstances in order to bring food to the table.
DAPA would allow for these horrible working conditions to vanish and pay undocumented
individuals proper pay. It would give jobs to those who have a degree in a field but are unable to
utilize it since they are undocumented.
A similar issue is DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program allows
for indivduals who are undocumented and: arrived before the age of sixteen, have resided in the
United States before January 1, 2010, have been present in the U.S. June 15, 2012, and on every
day since August 15, 2012, and have graduated high school/ obtained a GED; to be eligible for
a work permit and not be deported (DAPA & Expanded DACA). This act allows for the children
who arrived prior to January 1, 2010 to be eligible to work. Many of these same individuals
probably fall under the California Dream Actwhat was meant to be state wide but only passed
in Californiais an act that passed in 2011 and consists of two Assembly Bills, AB 130 and AB
131. Together, these bills allow undocumented students to apply for and receive private scholar
ships (AB 130) and state financial aid, university grants, and community college fee waivers (AB
131) (Comparison Chart: DACA, California Dream Act, AB 540, and DREAM Act). AB 540
(California) goes in arms with the California Dream Act. AB 540 was passed in 2001 and
allows for eligible students to pay instate tuition at: California Community College, California
State Universities (CSUs), and Universities of California (UCs) (Comparison Chart: DACA,
California Dream Act, AB 540, and DREAM Act).
Although the DREAM Act (different from the California Dream Act) was not passed, it
was approved in California (and other states such as: Texas, New York, Utah, and 11 more)
became its own separate act. This DREAM act would allow for undocumented individuals who

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reside in the United States to obtain temporary residency if they graduate, had good moral, and
enlisted in the military for two years or went on to obtain higher education for two years; they
would obtain permanent residency if they were to enlist for 6 years instead of two or obtain a
higher education for 6 years (they must also have good moral and have graduated).
All these Acts have been engraved into the Era and history that is Immigration Reform. It
has allowed for individuals and hardworking students to pursue higher education, it only makes
sense that DACA and DAPA would be approved. This would allow for economic growth, in the
sense that those undocumented individuals who qualify can now be considered applicable for
work in places where employees are needed. Economic growth would occur now that these same
individuals can now be hired for having obtained a degree that was once unusable due to status.

Strengths

There is an increase in job

Weaknesses

secure the border.

opportunities for immigrants.

It becomes safer for the Border

It decreases the risk of a terrorist

Lack of advertisement to receive

information and help.

attack.

Not everyone is able to pay the cost of

fee to apply for the immigration reform.

patrol agents to enforce the border.

More taxpayer dollars will be used to

Families stay united and dont fear

of being deported.

Opportunities

Quality of life

Chance for a better education

Threats

An increase of people trying to cross the

border.

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Ability to apply to universities/

colleges

The information located on the Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (SWOT) chart
above depicts the benefits and the disasters than can strike. The benefits are that families will not
be destroyed and severed, families will instead stay together; the pursuit for happiness will be
applicable to all in the sense that these individuals can now obtain the jobs and opportunities for
a higher education that they pursued. The weaknesses, which dont really seem that bad are that:
there will be more taxes implemented for a tighter border patrol.

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Works Cited
"AFFIRMATIVE ACTION | OVERVIEW." National Conference of State Legislation, 1 Apr.
2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
"Comparison Chart: DACA, California Dream Act, AB 540, and DREAM Act." Immigrant Legal
Resource Center, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.ilrc.org/files/documents/ilrc-daca_comparison_chart-2012-10_10.pdf>.
"Continuing to Strengthen Border Security." The White House. The White House. Web. 7 Apr.
2015. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/border-security>.
"DAPA & Expanded DACA." National Immigration Law Center, 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nilc.org/dapa&daca.html>.
"Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Fact Sheet." Immigration Legal Resource
Center. Immigration Legal Resource Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.ilrc.org/files/documents/daca_fact_sheet.pdf>.
"Immigration." The White House. The White House. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration>.
"Preparing for Possible Immigration Reform." Immigrant Legal Resource Center, 2013. Web. 8
Apr. 2015.
<http://www.ilrc.org/files/documents/preparing_for_possible_immigration_reform_engli
sh_final.pdf>.
"The DREAM Act." The DREAM Act. Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.ilrc.org/for-immigrants-para-inmigrantes/dream-act>.
"What We Do." What We Do. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.ice.gov/overview>.
"Who We Are." Who We Are. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

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