Immigration, the White House & the Supreme Court

Hour 1

President Obama’s “DREAM Order” last Friday, along with the pending Supreme Court ruling on Arizona’s immigration law, are reshaping immigration policy on the state and federal levels and have put immigration squarely in the center of the presidential campaign. Last week, President Obama announced a new policy that will allow some 800,000 illegal immigrants — those under the age of 30 who came to the United States before 16 and who meet certain conditions — to remain in the country without fear of deportation. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a bipartisan bill that addressed the issue was passed by the House in 2010 but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. And the Supreme Court will soon announce its decision on the constitutionality of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, which allows police officers with “reasonable suspicions” to check the immigration status of an individual during routine traffic stops and arrest a person believed to be eligible for deportation. That ruling is expected to have wide-ranging impact on if and how states regulate immigration in the future.  Joining us to talk about the significance of both the President’s order and the Supreme Court anticipated ruling are RUDOLPH GARCIA, an attorney and former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association; and JAN TING, professor of law at Temple University and “Brandywine to Broad” blogger for WHYY’s NewsWorks. We’ll also hear from FERNANDA MARROQUIN, a young, local illegal immigrant from Peru who has been organizing around the DREAM Act.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 061912_100630.mp3]