Immigration reform: 'The California Package'

The US federal government continues to deport illegal immigrants, but California has moved in the opposite direction, encouraging integration rather than deportation. This is good news for the 2.5 million illegal aliens living in California, but it does nothing to help prospective immigrants who are waiting to enter the US legally.

Basically, the Democratic lawmakers of California are trying to buy as many votes as possible by giving illegal aliens as many benefits as possible.

President Barack Obama recently repeated that Obamacare does not make coverage available to people who are in the U.S. illegally. Illegal aliens are not eligible for federal coverage, including Medicare and non-emergency Medicaid. Since Obamacare can’t apply to illegals, California is using its own state program for them. In mid-June, the state expanded healthcare access to all undocumented children and boosted spending for naturalization assistance. Good news for illegal aliens, but not such good news for California tax payers.

The California Package is innovative. It makes no distinction between citizens, authorized immigrants and illegal aliens. In other words, it is giving equal treatment to everyone who lives in the state.

In California, qualification for in-state tuition is not based on immigrant status. It is just based on the number of years any person has spent in the K-12 system in California. Similarly, the state requires all professional licensing boards to consider applicants regardless of their immigration status. And all residents can obtain a driver's license.

In Arizona, an illegal alien high school graduate cannot qualify for in-state tuition, state financial aid or health benefits, even if the alien is the beneficiary of Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. In California, an undocumented high school graduate can qualify for education and health benefits and ultimately find work as a board-certified accountant, architect or engineer or lawyer. And he or she can do these things even if not a beneficiary of DACA.

Supporters of California's pro-integration laws have justified the California Package as a way to get more immigrants contributing to local economies. In fact, immigration has always been controlled by politics and emotions and the California Democratic legislators are well aware of the support they can get by passing laws that help illegal immigrants.

In return for eight years of American taxpayer support, a graduating student at UC San Diego recently insulted America, her host country, by waving a Mexican flag when she went on stage to receive her diploma. She chose not to wave the flag of the United States, the country that gave her the chance to complete a university education at no cost, due to scholarships she received. Those scholarships should have gone to legal residents of California. One Vietnamese commenter said she should be more proud to wave the flag of the country that gave her this opportunity.

So, because of the Hispanic influence in California, it is acceptable to wave a Mexican flag, but in some cases the American flag cannot be displayed because some illegal aliens might be offended. This is a sad situation.

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Q.1. Will the DACA program continue after Mr. Obama completes his term as president?

 A.1. In theory, the next president could cancel it, but in fact it is certain to continue because of the large population of illegal aliens in the US.

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Q.2. Are there any recent changes in immigration policy that would benefit people waiting to immigrate to the US legally.

 A.2. Nothing has been done to reduce the waiting time or to provide help for those who were too old to qualify for CSPA. Everything continues as before.

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Q.3. Many presidential candidates are making promises about immigration reform. Should we wait to see if they keep their promises?

 A.3. If you are thinking about filing a petition for a relative, do it now. That way, you will not have to worry about future changes in the law.