Immigration executive action means big changes for some Colorado families

The president’s executive action on immigration could mean big changes for some families in southern Colorado.

Paloma Macedo and her family were celebrating Thursday, after hearing President Barack Obama’s message. She and her husband are undocumented. Their kids are U.S. citizens. Under those circumstances, they qualify for the president’s executive action.

“Oh my God, we were so happy, so emotional,” she said. “I couldn’t get a job where I wanted to work, because of my status, but now I can be able to work and finish my school.”

Immigration lawyer Stephanie Izaguirre, of Izaguirre Law Firm said there will be more changes to the law than originally thought. She said U.S. citizens applying to join the military will be able to apply to obtain a green card for their undocumented spouse before they join the military. More people will be able to obtain a U Visa, a visa for victims of crime. And deportation priorities will change.

“If you had a deportation order many years ago, but never left, you would no longer be a priority for deportation,” Izaguirre said. “Which is important, because those people, under the law as it was, could be picked up and deported immediately, which is usually pretty traumatic for their families.”

Izaguirre said the qualifications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is also changing, so more people will qualify.

“Basically, (the changes) are all designed to keep families together,” she said.