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Valley Residents Look Forward To New Immigration Policy

Diana Aguilera
/
Valley Public Radio

Undocumented residents in the Central Valley are speaking out today after President Obama revealed his executive action on immigration Thursday. As FM89’s Diana Aguilera reports, reactions to the president’s announcement are mixed.

For nearly 24 years, Lucia Aldarete says she has been living with the fear that one day she will be deported back to Mexico. The Fresno resident says she couldn’t imagine what life would be like without her three children, who were born in the United States.

But after President Obama announced that he would defer the deportation of parents of children who are either U.S. citizens or legal residents, Aldarete says that fear will slowly fade away. She plans to apply as soon as it becomes available.

“After the hearing the news, now I’m going to feel that I’m not going to be watched at,” Aldarete says. “I can be in public and not worry that there’s going to be a possibility of getting deported. I’ll be more relaxed and able to live my life.”

Obama’s executive action will also expand the number of young undocumented immigrants who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as Dreamers. Both of these groups that qualify will be allowed to work in the United States legally, after passing a background check and paying a fee.

Immigration experts say Obama’s announcement is a big relief to some of the undocumented people, but many are left out.

Jessica Smith-Bobadilla is the director of the New American Legal Clinic at San Joaquin College of Law.

“This potentially addresses 5 million of the roughly 12 million undocumented people in the United States, so it’s clearly not something that shields the majority of the people that are here from deportation.”

Officials say applications will start to be accepted in about six months.

Diana Aguilera is a multimedia reporter native of Santiago, Chile. It was during her childhood in Santiago where her love for journalism sparked. Diana moved to Fresno while in her teens and is a proud graduate of California State University, Fresno. While earning her degree in journalism and minor in Latin American studies, Diana worked for the Fresno Bee. Her work as a general assignment reporter continued after college and was recognized by the California Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2014, she joined Valley Public Radio. Her hobbies include yoga, traveling and reading.