It’s not the full-blown DREAM Act the President and the Democrats tried to pass in 2010, but it’s a big step forward. Today the President announced a policy change which will allow people under 30 who came to the US as children and have no criminal background to remain in the US. More specifically,

According to the Department of Homeland Security, eligible immigrants will now receive “deferred action,” which essentially means a two-year reprieve from deportation along with a permit that allows them to work. The deferral will be available to any immigrants who came to the United States younger than 16, have lived in the country continuously for at least five years, and are currently in the country. They must be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate or be honorably discharged veterans of the military or the Coast Guard.

They also must not be older than 30 and must never have been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

While the policy does not create a path to U.S. citizenship, it removes the threat of deportation for those who are eligible and gives them permission to work in the United States legally.

These people are precisely the kind of people we want and need in this country, and more than that, they have committed no action which warrants them being deported. They didn’t come to America of their own volition, they think of themselves as Americans, and they have shown enough motivation to get through high school or its equivalent or serve the country in its armed forces.

Good on you, Mr. President.