President Issues Immigration Policy Change for Relatives of Active Military

 Posted on April 11,2014 in Immigration

According to a report by FoxNews.com, a memorandum issued by President Obama states that the government is planning on allowing some of the relatives of United States military members who are in the country illegally to stay.

In the President’s order, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be allowed to issue “parole in place” orders for spouses, children and parents of anyone who is currently serving in any branch of the U.S. military.

The president has made immigration reform one of the priorities of his administration since taking office. One of his earliest and most controversial policy changes was ordering the immigration department to locate and deport only the most serious criminal offenders. And last year, the president said the country would now be allowing young illegal immigrants a two year postponement of work permits and deportation.

Although the Senate earlier this year passed a bill that would move along the process of allowing the almost 11 million illegal immigrants in the country to become legal, its passage in the House does not look promising. Experts say the president has been frustrated by the otherwise slow and difficult process of his plans for reform and say this is why he has been making these policy changes as directives from his administration.

Just this past August, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were directed to examine just how the deportation of an illegal immigrant who was a parent or guardian of children to determine what their roles were in the child’s life and what impact the deportation of the adult would have on that child.

In an interview with ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said this new change in policy was a positive one and would help, “reduce the uncertainty our active duty and retired military personnel face because of the immigration status of their family members.”

With all the laws and policy changes, immigration law can be very complicated and confusing. If you have questions or need assistance with your immigration status, contact a qualified Lombard immigration attorney today.