The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 743,000 unauthorized immigrants in Texas will qualify for protection under Obama's executive order on immigration. It will be the second most impacted state in the country, behind California.
Texas will be the second most affected state under President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration, which will shield 5 million unauthorized immigrants from deportation, according to a study by the Migration Policy Institute.
In Texas, the president’s actions will make 743,000 people in the country illegally eligible for protection from deportation. That’s second only to California, where 1.5 million people will be eligible for protection under the administration’s new and expanded deferred action programs. So how will Obama’s executive order affect Texas’ undocumented population?
First, let’s go over the ground rules. About half a million (560,000) will be able to apply for temporary relief from deportation under the new deferred action program that qualifies parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have been in the country for more than five years. Another 183,000 unauthorized immigrants in Texas will qualify for protection under the expansion of the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which will extend eligibility to people who entered the country as children before January 1, 2010 regardless of how old they are now.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 743,000 unauthorized immigrants in Texas will qualify for protection under Obama’s executive order on immigration. It will be the second most impacted state in the country, behind California.
Both programs will offer three years of temporary relief from deportation.
Secondly, the executive order doesn’t cover all unauthorized immigrants in the state. According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are roughly 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants in Texas, which means that only half of the state’s population that is in the country illegally are eligible for the programs. It is unclear how many out of those 743,000 will apply, but if the rollout of the DACA program two years ago is any indication, the number will be far below the capacity enrollment.
Before Obama’s expansion of DACA last week, 1.2 million people were eligible for the program nationwide. In two years, only about half of the population eligible for that program (580,000) had attained its temporary relief from deportation.
There is no one clear answer as to why large portions of the eligible population don’t apply for these programs, but factors cited often include poverty, language barriers and lack of education.
In Texas, 36 percent of the unauthorized immigrant population is at or above 200 percent of the poverty level, compared to the country as a whole where that percentage is 28.
The fee for the new deferred action program has not been released yet by the administration, but the fee for DACA is $465 and cannot be waived.
Similarly, ability to speak English is a big factor in whether people apply for the program or not, Batalova said. In Texas, 58 percent of the state’s unauthorized immigrant population said they speak English “not well” or “not at all” compared to 51 percent in the country overall, which could discourage them from seeking out applications for the program. Complicating matters more only 21 percent of the state’s undocumented immigrant population has a high school diploma or equivalent meaning they could also experience educational barriers to filling out the application.
Additionally, unauthorized immigrants who work in the construction industry will be greatly affected by the action. In Texas, 25 percent of the unauthorized immigrant population is employed in this sector, which has fought in recent years to require breaks for workers every few hours. Austin passed an ordinance in 2010 mandating a rest of at least 10 minutes for every four hours worked.
Not surprisingly, 80 percent of the state’s undocumented population is Mexican.
The president’s executive order will not create a path to citizenship.