Patricia Soria, a 48-year-old Mexican immigrant who lives in Escondido, said she may never see her mother again.
Her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, lives in Mexico.
“I call her every night,” Soria said. “But she can’t remember my name anymore.”
Soria came to the U.S. illegally. If she were to go see her mother, she would risk permanent separation from her son, a U.S. citizen who attends a university in Boston.
Soria is one of about 100,000 immigrants in San Diego County who could benefit from President Barack Obama’s plans to offer deportation relief and work permits to parents of U.S. citizens as well as certain young immigrants, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Continued delays in the plans are having long-term consequences in the lives of immigrants.
“I was hoping to have DAPA to see (my mother) before she died,” said Soria, who cleans houses in Escondido. “Now it’s almost impossible.”
Obama said Tuesday he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to green-light his immigration reforms, which could benefit up to five million immigrants nationwide. A federal appeals court upheld an injunction against the plans on Monday.
Ginger Jacobs, a San Diego immigration attorney, said she thinks DAPA- and DACA-eligible immigrants should remain hopeful.
“The Supreme Court has ruled on cases that involve similar issues in a way that’s favorable to the executive branch, which — breaking it down — means they’re very likely to take President Obama’s side,” she said.
One of those cases is Arizona v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled against several provisions in a controversial Arizona immigration law.
In his opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the executive branch has “broad discretion” in deciding whether to remove people from the country.
Jacobs said the Fifth Circuit’s ruling against President Obama’s immigration reforms wasn’t the worst-case scenario for immigrants. If the appeals court had sat on the case for several more months, it might have made it impossible for the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court before the end of President Obama’s term.
If the Supreme Court decides to take up the case, a decision would likely come by the summer.
By that time, Soria of Escondido would have missed her son’s college graduation ceremony.
She can’t travel cross-country without U.S. documents.
