According to the LA Times, "Appearing in the Rose Garden at the White House, Obama announced Friday that, effective immediately, young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally before age 16 and spent at least five continuous years here would be allowed to stay and apply for work permits if they had no criminal history and met other criteria, such as graduating from high school or serving honorably in the military."
I grew up in San Jose, a city located one hour away from San Francisco. There are many minorities in San Jose; I have met many illegal immigrants in my life. I also lived near Palm Springs where I met some illegal immigrants from Mexico working very hard to support their families. Oftentimes, it isn't one's fault that he / she goes over to America at, say, the age of 3 and grows up "Americanized" and believes he/she is a U.S. Citizen until the truth comes out... or even without the citizenship, the United States is what he/she knows and wants to do well at school and all that. There are those who don't contribute to society but those are the ones often gaining the national attention. Obama's move clearly doesn't give "amnesty" but it does provide a way for those who shouldn't be unfairly deported. The loss of jobs and crime shouldn't be blamed on one group, and illegal immigrants often get scapegoated. The system needs to be blamed as well, but this program appears to be a win for the current President.
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