Deportation change hailed by isle resident

For 16 years, Antonio has been trying to find a way to make it legal for him to stay in Hawaii.

President Barack Obama may have given him a way.

“This is nothing short of a miracle,” said Antonio, a Hawaii resident who spoke to the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser by phone after Obama announced his plan for immigration reform Thursday. 

Antonio, who declined to give his last name, said he was recently approached by federal immigration officers who began removal proceedings against him.

“I have a 9-year-old son who is a U.S. citizen,” he said. “I was facing being apart from him for who knows how long.”

Obama’s move grants parents of U.S. citizens temporary relief from deportation as long as the parents have been in the U.S. since before Jan. 1, 2010.

Immigration attorney Clare Hanusz, Antonio’s lawyer, said Obama’s executive action is “a huge relief.” (She put the Star-Advertiser in touch with Antonio.)

“This presents an opportunity for people that didn’t exist before,” said Hanusz, of the law firm Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert.

She estimates that between 20,000 and 40,000 undocumented residents live in Hawaii, many of whom could find refuge under the president’s executive action.

She said some have been exploited by business owners who refused to pay them, and some have lived in fear of being separated from family.

“These are people who are really living in the shadows,” Hanusz said. “For every person we’re helping, there’s many more who haven’t come forward because of fear or because there haven’t been any options available to them.”

Participating in the program, however, does not come without risk, she said. If Congress or the next president were to rescind the program, immigrants who applied for temporary relief could be targeted for deportation.

Hanusz suggested interested residents wait for more details, consult an attorney and be wary of potential scams.

“You don’t want to apply for this if you don’t qualify,” she said. “Make sure to get good advice before you apply.”

Antonio said he overstayed his tourist visa after coming to the U.S. from South America.

He said he’s been paying taxes but never had any options to become legal until the president’s executive action.

“I was facing a life-changing situation,” he said. “It would break my heart to not be present in (my son’s) life.”