'#Obama - Four more years - 2012' found at https://flic.kr/p/drnVxv by byus71 (https://flickr.com/people/byus71) used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
'#Obama - Four more years - 2012' found at https://flic.kr/p/drnVxv by byus71 (https://flickr.com/people/byus71) used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
'#Obama - Four more years - 2012' found at https://flic.kr/p/drnVxv by byus71 (https://flickr.com/people/byus71) used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
Last night, President Barack Obama addressed the nation to discuss his plan for taking Executive Action on immigration.  There are a number of provisions contained within the President's plan, but the the cornerstone of the initiative is what will be known as Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA).  Many, many more details will emerge over the next few weeks and months, but DAPA will apply to about 5 million current U.S. inhabitants, who fulfill the following conditions:
  1. Must be the parent of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident child; and,
  2. Must have entered the United States on or before January 1, 2010, and have been continuously present since; and,
  3. Must pass a rigorous criminal background check; and, 
  4. Must have paid, or pay, any and all federal taxes.
These applicants will also need to file forms, pay filing fees, and otherwise comply with all regulatory and administrative requirements.  In exchange, they will be allowed to remain in the United States for 3 years, will receive a work permit, and should be allowed to obtain a driver's license and other identification.

DAPA beneficiaries will NOT be eligible for federal public assistance, including coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Other developments include clearing employment-based visa backlogs; increasing border security efforts; targeting serious criminal offenders for prompt deportation; ending the controversial Secure Communities program; and other provisions.

The government is not yet prepared to accept DAPA applications, but this blog and other news sites will announce further developments as they arise.