#Not1More Deportation

We Are Ready for Relief And We’re Not Waiting.

We are no longer waiting for the President to provide new channels for relief. We are ready and are applying for deferred action now. As undocumented people who call the US home, who contribute to our communities, and who have pursued every mechanism of government to have our humanity recognized and our full inclusion granted, we seek to be free from the fear of being ripped from our loved ones, relief from the ICE agents who haunt our neighborhoods, and access to the ability to work and live in this country with legal status as we continue to fight for full rights and recognition. We will assert what we want to see, foreshadowing solutions and sending a message to President Obama: We are here. We are ready. We can no longer wait. What’s left is for you to make the right choice.
“I have been living without knowing what’s going to happen to me and my family for almost a year now. We can’t plan our future, never knowing what’s next.The President must make his decision to include us and I’m not waiting to formally submit my request.” – Anibal Fuentes, a Chicago day laborer who was taken from his home at gunpoint by ICE agents wearing uniforms marked ‘police’ in their third raid on his apartment complex. ICE has granted Fuentes one 6-month temporary delay in his deportation, and he has been waiting for response on a second request since September.
 
Meet the People Asking the President, We’re Ready, Are You? [show-team category=’uscis’ url=’active’ layout=’pager’ style=’img-square,img-white-border,text-left,thumbs-left,img-above’ display=’photo,position,smallicons,name’]

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Washington Post: Undocumented Immigrants to Test Presidential Pledge By Emerging from the Shadows to Demand Relief


Sign to support these deferred action requests from US Citizenship & Immigration Services:



Frequently Asked Questions

What is ‘Ready for Relief’?
‘Ready for Relief’ is an effort of the #Not1More campaign from undocumented people who are living in deportation proceedings or under constant threat of deportation. The strategy seeks to highlight the humanity of undocumented immigrants and the need for full inclusion and equality, as well as freedom from fear, the right to work, and the right to travel. Now as the President has delayed opening a path to relief, and as ICE continues to pursue and deport members of our community, we will work to open the path ourselves and find alternative avenues to stop deportations.
What does it mean for individuals to be part of this strategy?
As part of this strategy, individuals who are living undocumented in the United States take the next step out of the shadows and apply for deferred action at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS offices). The effort began with applications from people who are already in removal proceedings, including those in and out of immigration detention, those who have been granted temporary stays of removal, and those who are in the process of applying or have been denied stays of removal. Undocumented people who are not in deportation proceedings are also participating in the strategy, knowing the higher potential risks. The applications are being turned in at USCIS offices around the country, requesting 4-year deferred action.
Why is this strategy necessary, when administrative action is imminent?
The President has pledged action but has yet to deliver on his promises. With ICE continuing to violate our community’s rights, we will not stop pushing the President to grant administrative relief until we are free from the fear of deportation. The President has the ability and the authority to act broadly and we expect him to use it to the fullest extent possible. We are all deserving of relief and we will not stop fighting to be included. To break through the beltway’s political games and cowardice, we will assert what we want to see, foreshadowing solutions and sending a message to President Obama: We are here. We are ready. We can no longer wait. What’s left is for you to make the right choice. 
Why ask for deferred action with USCIS and not ICE?
Undocumented people have stopped deportations one by one, advocated for policy change at the local and state level, and shut down ICE and detention facilities, showing dramatic courage to deliver a message to the President and to ICE. But time and time again, we have seen that ICE is a rogue agency that it is unaccountable to elected officials and local communities; there is little supervision of local offices’ enforcement tactics and prosecutorial discretion implementation by ICE headquarters, creating an emergency situation that continues to put people in danger and tear families apart. For immigrants who have only been able to rely on ICE for hope to keep their families together, USCIS is an alternative agency that could use prosecutorial discretion to provide relief. These actions are both a form of protest and a formal petition to USCIS which does have the power to grant or deny these deferred action requests. 
What are the risks for those who participate in this strategy?
If the President keeps his word and if the agencies follow their protocol, the applicants should be accepted and granted relief. However, for those who are affirmatively applying, meaning those who are not in deportation proceedings, there is always the risk that USCIS will refer their application to ICE, and that ICE will pursue them and place them in deportation proceedings, especially if they fit one of the “priority” categories. For people who are already in removal proceedings and under ICE custody or supervision, there is no additional risk of submitting a deferred action application. However, there is no guarantee that the application will be approved.
Can USICS grant deferred action without an order from the President?
Yes, but it is complicated. USCIS has the authority to grant deferred action per their discretion. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has the authority to grant deferred action as a matter of prosecutorial discretion. USCIS has recognized its authority to grant Deferred Action to individual requestors. In October 2011, then Director Alejandro Mayorkas, issued a memo stating that he was committed to creating a transparent and consistent process for individuals to apply for deferred action with USCIS; thus recognizing the agency’s authority to grant requests for deferred action. USCIS Policy even indicates that individual Deferred Action may make independent requests for Deferred Action by mailing such requests or scheduling an INFOPASS appointment and hand delivering them to the USCIS field office that has jurisdiction over their place of residence. However, it is important to note that although USCIS has the authority to grant deferred action, they have never provided public information about the application process or the guidelines they use in evaluating requests. In fact, generally, USCIS does not grant deferred action unless there is an emergency or a pending visa application likely to be approved. Everyone participating is that first and foremost this is a political statement, and that winning deferred action is part of a very difficult organizing tactic with little precedent.
 
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