One of the newest trends illegal aliens are embracing as a means to escape deportation might surprise you: they\u2019re going public.<\/p>\n
This brazenness is thanks to the Obama Administration\u2019s issuance of prosecutorial discretion guidelines, which direct DHS agents to ignore illegal aliens so long as they are not convicted of crimes the Administration deems serious. (See FAIR\u2019s Morton Memos Summary<\/a>, Jan. 2012)<\/p>\n This mandated \u201cdiscretion\u201d sends a clear message to illegal aliens that it\u2019s okay to break the law. The amount of confidence bestowed by President Obama\u2019s administrative amnesty policies has been enough to encourage illegal aliens to come out of hiding, stage their own rallies, and even challenge immigration authorities directly.<\/p>\n Here is a sampling of these \u201ccoming out\u201d stories:<\/p>\n \u2022 In February, Jos\u00e9 Luis Zelaya, a graduate student at Texas A&M University, gained attention by running for the highly publicized position of Student Body President, integrating his illegal status into his campaign platform. (Fox News Latino<\/a>, Feb. 29, 2012)<\/p>\n \u2022 Daniela Palaez of Florida gained nationwide attention in March when she was named her high school\u2019s 2012 valedictorian. Palaez, who was brought to the U.S. as a young child, was facing imminent deportation until her story went viral and Florida Reps. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen and David Rivera, as well as Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, made public appeals on her behalf. Within four days, ICE granted Palaez a two-year deferment of deportation, citing prosecutorial discretion. (FOX Phoenix<\/a>, March 2, 2012; see also CBS Miami<\/a>, March 6, 2012)<\/p>\n \u2022 In mid-April, Florida State University Law School graduate and tourist visa overstayer Jose Godinez-Samperio was spotlighted by the media when he petitioned for admission to the Florida Bar Association. The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is now requesting decision assistance from the Supreme Court, which marked the case \u201chigh profile.\u201d (see also Orlando Sentinel<\/a>, April 15, 2012)<\/p>\n \u2022 Mohammed Abdollahi, an illegal alien residing in Michigan, brazenly explained that \u201cthe more public [illegal aliens]are with our stories, the safer we are.\u201d (USA Today<\/a>, March 12, 2012) Abdohalli, fearing he would be deported after years of living in the country illegally, got himself arrested and publicly pled his case. Sure enough, his lawyer was notified by an immigration official that Abdohalli would not be pursued for deportation. (Id.) Abdollahi now works for the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA).<\/p>\n \u2022 Most recently, Dulce Matuz, an illegal alien, and graduate of Arizona State University, was granted a coveted spot on TIME Magazine\u2019s 2012 list of the Top 100 Influential People in the World. Matuz, who is the founder of the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, is working hard to reach Latino voters in Arizona with her belief that illegal immigrants deserve a pathway to citizenship. (WCVB-Boston<\/a>, April 20, 2012)<\/p>\n So many illegal aliens feel comfortable going public under this Administration that they\u2019ve even created their own day of recognition. National Coming Out of the Shadows Day was first hosted in 2010 by the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL). The group\u2019s Facebook page proudly notes that their event spurred \u201cactions of civil disobedience\u201d in a multitude of states. (See\u00a0Business Week<\/a>, April 16, 2012) One such action took place in Philadelphia, where two illegal alien students challenged immigration officers by entering an ICE field office and declaring their illegal status. They were arrested for blocking a street and ICE initially filed detainers on the two students, but eventually released them without consequence. (Bi-College News<\/a>, March 20, 2012)<\/p>\n While some illegal aliens choose to \u201cremain in the shadows,\u201d a growing number continue to flaunt their status as if their unlawful presence alone merits citizenship, and suddenly a different descriptor comes to mind: entitled.<\/p>\n The rise in confrontational tactics by illegal aliens provides clear confirmation that President Obama\u2019s administrative amnesty measures are serving as a positive reinforcement to the illegal community, cementing the idea that illegal aliens deserve citizenship simply due to their presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the newest trends illegal aliens are embracing as a means to escape deportation might surprise you: they\u2019re going public. This brazenness is thanks to the Obama Administration\u2019s issuance of prosecutorial discretion guidelines, which direct DHS agents to ignore illegal aliens so long as they are not convicted of crimes the Administration deems serious.<\/p>\n