An estimated five million unauthorized immigrants in the US who qualify for an expanded deferred action program - announced last November by President Barack Obama - are living in a legal limbo as a challenge to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration winds through the federal court system.
Obama's executive actions, could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people - one and a half million of them in California.
The deferred action program would give temporary relief from deportation to parents of US-born children and other members of mixed-status families. A federal judge in Texas prevented the initiatives from taking effect earlier this year. The Obama administration appealed the injunction before the Fifth circuit in New Orleans last month. Attorneys on both sides are gearing up for the next round of oral arguments while families with mixed immigration status watch closely from the sidelines.
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a large population of undocumented immigrants from all over the world and in a series, Pacifica KPFA reporter Saadia Malik will be profiling some of the communities which would be affected by President Obama's executive actions. Today's report looks at the experiences of two Latino immigrants and the particular challenges they and families like them are facing.