“They are Americans in every way but their citizenship”

Last week we shared news from the White House that many undocumented youth could be spared deportation if they’ve stayed out of trouble and were brought into the country when they were very young. We were excited; so were many of our member organizations. From Karen Crompton, head of Voices for Utah Children:

“This is a common sense action that is good for these young people and good for our country. They are Americans in every way but their citizenship, and it helps no one to keep them from planning for their future,” said Karen in a statement. “We hope that Congress will take action next year to pass the DREAM Act that will also offer these young people a path to citizenship. All kids deserve to dream.”

The White House policy is similar to a bill called the DREAM Act which stalled in Congress last year. The new policy is intended as a stopgap measure until Congress can finally get something like DREAM passed — tough to do in an election year. What do you think?