This Video Shows The Frightening Reality Immigrant Families Face In The US
America's immigration system is broken. Regardless of political affiliation, pretty much everyone can agree on that. What people can't agree on is how to fix the problem.
Democrats, such as President Obama, favor a more humane approach. They want reform that weeds out criminals but doesn't break up families.
Comparatively, Republicans, such as presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, are completely opposed to amnesty. They want to make America's already draconian laws even harsher, and they argue the US should deport all undocumented immigrants.
It's worth noting more people have been deported under President Obama than any president in US history. This is a large part of the reason the president continues to push for reform. He's duty bound to enforce America's inhumane immigration laws, but that doesn't mean he agrees with them.
In 2014, the president took executive actions to protect around five million undocumented immigrants from being deported, particularly parents of legal residents.
President Obama's broad immigration plan was designed to prevent the US government from splitting up families and also from deporting children. These aspects of his executive actions are known as deferred action plans. There's the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), and there's also the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).
But, not everyone is happy about the executive actions, and some argue they are unconstitutional. Texas and 25 other states are suing the federal government over this, and the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court (United States v. Texas).
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding Obama's executive actions on immigration and whether or not they are constitutional. This is a huge case, and it's one that could impact millions of immigrants.
Most people have no idea what it's like to live in constant fear of the government or to continuously contemplate being forcefully separated from your family.
The mini-documentary below, directed by Colombian immigrant Paola Mendoza, depicts the frightening reality immigrant families in the US face every single day.
The discussion occurring in the Supreme Court on Monday directly affects families like the one in the video below.
Citations: Court appears divided, signaling trouble for Obama on immigration (The Hill)
