In the last three months of 2015, when illegal border crossings typically drop, the border patrol detained 21,469 Central Americans traveling as a family. That's nearly triple the 2014 numbers during the same period, according to the latest Border and Customs Protection data. Meanwhile, the number of children traveling alone more than doubled to 17,370.

Justice William Brennan ruled that this denial constituted a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The center's report is based on 2012 data from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation. It includes immigrants who have become naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, those on short-term visas and undocumented immigrants.

Chavez, president of the Becoming American Institute, a conservative group that advocates for higher levels of legal immigration to reduce illegal immigration, said politicians should be careful about using the data. Rather than focus on the fact that immigrants are initially more dependent on welfare than the U.S.-born, she said they should focus on studies that show what happens to the children of those immigrants.

Chavez said today's immigrants, like all other immigrant waves in the country's history, start off poorer and have lower levels of education, making it unfair to compare their welfare use to the long-established native-born population. She said immigrants have larger households, making it more likely that one person in that household will receive some kind of welfare benefit. And she said many benefits counted in the study are going to U.S.-born children of immigrants, skewing the findings even more."When you take all of

Linda Chavez agrees with Camarota that the country's welfare system is too large and too costly. But Chavez, a self-professed conservative who worked in President Reagan's administration, said it's irresponsible to say immigrants are taking advantage of the country's welfare system any more than native-born Americans

"This should not be understood as some kind of defect or moral failing on the part of immigrants," Camarota said about the findings. "Rather, what it represents is a system that allows a lot of less-educated immigrants to settle in the country, who then earn modest wages and are eligible for a very generous welfare system."

Republican candidates focus on changing the nation's immigration laws, from calls for mass deportations to ending birthright citizenship.

Those numbers increase for households with children, with 76% of immigrant-led households receiving welfare, compared to 52% for the native-born.

About 51% of immigrant-led households receive at least one kind of welfare benefit, including Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches and housing assistance, compared to 30% for native-led households, according to the report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for lower levels of immigration.

Paul RyanPaul RyanRyan: Wis. primary could change tide in GOP race Trump had one thing right about abortion Trump sued over violence at rally MORE (R-Wis.) to file a brief on the legality of the president’s actions. Ryan reportedly said the president is “not permitted to write law — only Congress is.”

Because the government argues that the programs serve as guidance for the Department of Homeland Security on which immigrants to deport

The states argue the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs would increase their costs for healthcare, law enforcement and education. Texas specifically claims it would be financially burdened by having to issue more drivers’ licenses, which is now a state-subsidized benefit.

“We felt that it was absolutely the right thing to do to increase diversity” in the medical profession, said Geoff Young, senior director of student affairs and programs at the AAMC.

To ease the path for other DACA students, the Association of American Medical Colleges offered financial help with the application process. The common application used by most medical schools now includes a box where students can indicate their DACA status. The AAMC also trains medical schools and residency programs on DACA

. J got lucky midway through medical school, when California passed a law that let undocumented students get state aid and privately funded scholarship

But until DACA was enacted, California didn’t allow undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. That made it difficult for J to reach training sites.

J was inspired to pursue a career in medicine because of her parents’ experiences. Her mother, a nurse in their native Mexico, moved the family to the US to seek better health care when she fell ill. J was only 8 years old at the time. Watching her parents struggle to get care without insurance or documentation whetted her appetite for knowledge and ignited a desire to serve communities with little access to health care.

But J persevered: “When someone tells me I can’t have something, it makes me want it even more,” she said

J actually enrolled in medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011, the year before DACA took effect. She said her undergraduate advisors at Harvard discouraged her from applying because they saw no future for her: They doubted she would be able to land a residency — and without a residency, she would not be eligible to get her medical license to practice in the US.

In 2014, just 26 students with DACA status applied to medical school. This year, 112 did, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“There is a national emergency of talents being wasted,” said Mark Kuczewski, a professor of medical ethics at Loyola.

. Today, 61 out of 145 accredited medical schools in the United States will accept applications from DACA applicants. One of the first to open its doors to DACA students was the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago.

“All of this stuff can just disappear,” said one fourth-year medical student, who asked to be identified only by an initial, J, to protect family members who still face the threat of deportation. “The world that we live in, at this point in time, seems really uncertain.”

In any event, the record is clear that many of the undocumented children disabled by this classification will remain in this country indefinitely, and that some will become lawful residents or citizens of the United States.

If the State is to deny a discrete group of innocent children the free public education that it offers to other children residing within its borders, that denial must be justified by a showing that it furthers some substantial state interest. No such showing was made here. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals in each of these cases is

Appellants argue at the outset that undocumented aliens, because of their immigration status, are not "persons within the jurisdiction"

But despite the existence of these legal restrictions, a substantial number of persons have succeeded in unlawfully entering the United States, and now live within various States, including the State of Texas.

Since the late 19th century, the United States has restricted immigration into this country.

The only certain thing about the immigration debate is that it will continue to be one of the most visible issues in the United States for many years to come, especially because millions of immigrants continue to enter the country each year.

The most contested parts of the bill by these groups were the criminalization of undocumented immigrants and any individual that helped them stay in the United States.

n addition, some find that when examining all levels of government together (federal, state, and local), immigrants actually generate more revenue in taxes paid than they take out in social services received. However, examining the different levels of government reveals that immigrants are sometimes the greatest fiscal drain on the local governments compared to federal and state governments.

More specifically, they argue that increased numbers of immigrant workers increase unemployment and decrease wages of native workers. In this view, immigrants increase unemployment because they take away jobs from native U.S. workers and decrease wages because they are highly concentrated in low-wage occupations.

The two opposing views on immigration center arise from a fundamental disagreement on the possible effects of immigration on U.S. society. One of the main points of contention is the effect of immigration on the nation's economic growth and prosperity

, especially concerning the use of such public services as Medicare and the ability to work in the United States

There are several large and controversial organizations that promote heavy restrictions on immigration; one of the biggest is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and another is the Minutemen Project. Both of these groups are vocal about their opposition to immigration and have a special focus on stopping undocumented immigration.

one believes in heavy restrictions on immigration and the other believes in fewer restrictions on immigration.

Since the late 19th century, the United States has restricted immigration into this country.

For high achieving undocumented students, there is hope when it comes to being able to afford the cost of college, especially those who have their sights set on the Ivy League. Both Harvard and Stanford University offer full ride scholarships to undocumented students. Although it's a controversial choice, it does mean that undocumented students who do well enough to be admitted to some of the top schools in the nation might not have to worry about how they're going to pay for it all.

Organizations including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the United Negro College Fund, and the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund provide financial assistance to undocumented students. Additionally, schools themselves may offer Financial Aid to undocumented students, as higher learning institutions are able to set their own relevant policies.

In 13 states, undocumented graduates of state high schools are allowed to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities. The states base eligibility on state school attendance and graduation. These states are as follows: Texas, Connecticut, California, Utah, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Rhode Island, Nebraska, and New Mexico. With this legislation, undocumented students can save thousands on their tuition, making it easier to attend college.

According to the UCLA Labor Center, only five to 10% make it to college due to a lack of available Financial Aid. Even among undocumented students who have attended college, problems abound; many see family members deported, some have to drop out of school because they can't afford it, others have to put their education on hold to find work, and some even experience workplace raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, all of which can severely complicate completing a college degree.

About 80,000 undocumented immigrants turn 18 every year, but of those, 16 to 20% of them will not graduate. Presumably, undocumented students do not see the value in a high school degree when they are not able to legally work, and may not be able to get grants or even attend college.

lthough many are quick to assume that undocumented means illegal, undocumented students can be in a number of different situations. Some have applied for permanent residence or another type of status, but are still awaiting approval. Others have cases pending in either Immigration or Federal Courts, a process that can take several years to complete. In some extreme cases, even US citizens may be undocumented, due to issues with proof of their citizenship.

Study abroad, trips with friends, and even transferring to a new school can be incredibly difficult for undocumented students. Additionally, some programs or careers require that students are legal citizens, including teacher certification and nurse registration. The undocumented do not have the opportunity to pursue these careers due to their status.

Plyler v. Doe in 1982 included several points that help undocumented students in school. Through this law, schools must provide an equal education to all children, including the undocumented. In fact, they can't even ask for documentation of a child's immigration status, and schools can't use Social Security numbers as a prerequisite for enrollment.

As undocumented youth are often brought into the US at a very young age, they may have no recollection of actually immigrating, and typically, no understanding of any legal arrangements that may have been made. In fact, some students have no idea that they are not legal US citizens until their late teens, when they apply for federal Financial Aid or begin looking for a job. This surprise can be devastating, as they are not able to pursue the college and career choices they may have been working toward.

"There are thousands of students just like me who did not choose to come to the United States, but who have worked so hard to make something out of themselves," she announced last summer during a rally in Washington, D.C., where she lobbied legislators on behalf of 65 million undocumented high school students.

With top grades, she was accepted into UCLA. But to apply for federal scholarships, she needed a Social Security number — something she didn't have.

Her story began in Lima, Peru, where she was born. In the aftermath of the Shining Path terrorism, her parents moved the family to California in 1996

Sofia says that hate is a powerful reason for undocumented youth to speak out and share their stories.

"That hateful language, you know, like 'illegal, alien, wetback, leach,'" she says, recalling opponents. "People were talking about my brother, my sister, my mom, my dad. How can these people, who don't know me at all, who don't know the love that exists within my family, how can you be just so hateful?"

United We Dream — a national network of youth-led immigrant organizations. She's part of an outspoken generation of activists who've lobbied lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans alike, for changes in immigration policy. This year, their movement scored a victory with Presid

Unlike many undocumented immigrants, Sofia Campos is not afraid to give her real name.

In September 2010, congressional Democrats added the DREAM Act to the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act. However, progress on the legislation, which traditionally passes with bipartisan support, was blocked by Senate Republicans, who opposed the inclusion of the DREAM Act in the defense bill.

Human rights and educational advocacy organizations have developed strategies that allow for the accommodation of these students in private and public colleges and universities by raising scholarship money for students in this situation.

pponents contend that passing the DREAM Act is tantamount to amnesty for the undocumented and rewards children and parents who entered the country illegally and could serve as a magnet to attract the illegal migration of additional people. Despite this opposition, Texas became the first state to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition fees; since then, 10 other states (California, Utah, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Wisconsin) have followed suit.

e DREAM Act would allow for these students to attend colleges and universities and apply for grants and student loans, and once degreed, could obtain jobs and contribute to the U.S. economy.

Several report that they only speak English and could not function as adults in their country of origin.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that in some instances children arrived in the United States when they were days, weeks, or months old in some cases.

These students found themselves socialized and educated in the United States and can be classified as de facto U.S. citizens because they have no ties to their home country save the fact that they were born there.

students did not have a social security number and permanent residency precluded them from applying for financial aid or student loans.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was first introduced in Congress in 2001 in response to more than 65,000 children and young adults in the United States who were in the country without the benefit of proper documentation and not able to enroll in institutions of higher learning.

But Rubio and other Republicans have blamed the policy in part for the current border crisis, and argued it must be disbanded

Lawmakers have been vague on what should happen to the undocumented young people who are eligible for DACA. Cruz's bill would apply to future relief. Rubio said relief should not be given out in the future, meaning current DACA recipients could keep their temporary status

Last month, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was joined by 32 House Republicans in calling on Obama to end DACA. Issa's letter accuses Obama of selectively enforcing the law, and says "DACA rewards families and individuals who have broken our laws, further encouraging others to seek similar benefits."

All 24 Republican House members and both senators in the Texas congressional delegation sent a letter to Obama on Thursday that called on him to suspend efforts to expand deportation relief. "Your Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Executive Order has shielded over half a million illegal immigrants from current law," the letter reads. "And it has sent the regrettable message that illegal immigration will not be punished in the United States."

"Without President Obama’s campaign promise of amnesty we would not have the tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children crossing our southern border, and we would have one less crisis for the country to confront," Inhofe said in a statement.

In announcing his support for the Cruz measure on Thursday, Inhofe said DACA "is enticing families to send their young children on the dangerous journey to the U.S-Mexico border, exposing them to treacherous and often times deadly conditions.

"Because the recent wave from Central America spiked after DACA was announced, it is in our interest to wind down this program," Rubio said in the statement. "If you are not currently in it, you should not be eligible for it."

who entered the country as children before June 15, 2007, to apply for temporary authorization to stay and work legally.

New immigrants aren't eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA,

more than 550,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, an action that would restart deportations of young people who have lived here for years.

Young Lives on Hold, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools every year. When they aspire to go to college along with their peers, their undocumented status becomes a major hindrance.

many undocumented students are really just victims of circumstances beyond their control.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, undocumented students are defined as foreign nationals who entered the U.S.: Without inspection With fraudulent documents Legally as nonimmigrants, who then violated the terms of their status by letting their Visas expire

Children who are living in this country have a right to a public education, regardless of their immigration status. But for many educators it's also more than a legal obligation, it's the moral thing to do.

Many of the new arrivals don't speak much English and are behind academically. They often come with scars, having fled desperate poverty or violence or both. Many endured difficult journeys, sometimes leaving their families behind or rejoining parents in the United States after years of separation.

A sweeping study of undocumented students across the country conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that 35% of college-age students with DACA reported anxiety rates above the clinical cut-off rate.

Still, those recipients account for just a fraction of the estimated 1.1 million DREAMers who likely qualify.

 More than 664,000 undocumented immigrants have received DACA benefits since the program began, with another 244,000 who have renewed their deferred

In his research last year, Gonzales found that 60% of DACA recipients found a new job, while 45% were able to see higher wages.

, granting temporary documentation to young DREAMers and allowing them to work aboveboard opens new doors beyond the security of knowing they will not be deporte

. Since then, those DREAMers have dramatically reshaped the immigration debate, seen their political clout explode and become ingrained in American culture.

But at beginning, I was so scared. I was really praying every day, and I was trying to stop her. But she didn't. Now, I know that she was right, and I was wron

"While there were adults doing it, no one quite was able to put the kind of fire and bring the kind of attention to the plight of the immigrant community as they were," Gutierrez says.

"There are thousands of students just like me who did not choose to come to the United States, but who have worked so hard to make something out of themselves,"

Last year, after the California Dream Act was signed into law, Sofia and other student activists began fighting for a Federal Dream Act.

It took her five years, but Sofia graduated with a double major in international developmental studies and political science.

At that point, Sofia says her mother revealed to her the family's secret: They had overstayed their tourist visas

Sofia says that hate is a powerful reason for undocumented youth to speak out and share their stories.

"That hateful language, you know, like 'illegal, alien, wetback, leach,'" she says, recalling opponents. "People were talking about my brother, my sister, my mom, my dad. How can these people, who don't know me at all, who don't know the love that exists within my family, how can you be just so hateful?"

he 22-year-old is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and heads United We Dream — a national network of youth-led immigrant organizations. She's part of an outspoken generation of activists who've lobbied lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans alike, for changes in immigration policy

And whether Sisa's other dreams come true — of ultimately becoming a citizen and one day voting herself — could be determined by who wins the White House in 2016.

"What the DREAMer movement has done, the way they have organized themselves proves them to be enormously effective political organizers," Johnson said. "They are good at what they do."

Praeli said there is "nothing more beautiful or powerful" than finally being recognized by the country she calls home.

Republican governors blocked the program in the court.

DREAMer activists Erika Andiola, 28, and Cesar Vargas, 32, head Latino strategic outreach for Bernie Sanders. They are co-founders of the Dream Action Coalition and have been at the forefront of DREAMer issues in their respective home states of Arizona and New York. They joined the campaign this fall and helped craft Sanders' position on immigration.

The term "DREAMers" was coined as a way to describe the immigrant youth who would have benefited from the bill. DREAMers came out of the shadows, told their stories, traveled to Washington, D.C, and engaged in acts of civil disobedience.

"The way that I see it is, I am one person and I can't vote, but if I get 10 people to vote that means a lot more than my vote alone, whenever I can vote," Sisa sai

"Somebody can drag me out of my chemistry class at 10 a.m. and deport me," Park says. "That is a real possibility, and it's scary, you know."

He notes that the temporary work permits they receive through DACA have allowed many to stop working under the table.

Garcia is by no means the only one who has taken on more responsibility in the family since DACA.

(There's also a lawsuit against an expansion Obama planned to make to the DACA program that has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

and since it was instituted, it has temporarily protected almost 700,000 people from deportation

We must provide equitable postsecondary educational opportunities for undocumented children. And as we wait on public policy to match up with the depth of our moral imagination, we must not remain silent either in our words or our actions. We must do our part in our workplace, in our religious institutions, and in our communities to close the chasm between the ambitions of undocumented youth and the opportunities they need to actualize those ambitions.

Equally important, what does our country lose - in both human and moral capital - when we postpone or completely blunt the dreams of our undocumented youth?

- that Jessica is legally barred from due to a decision she had no choice in making.

By the end of this semester, she will have earned over 50 college credit hours. Jessica remains involved at her school as a member of Student Government and the Year Book Club, while working to better her community as part of a youth group focused on increasing the voice and feedback of young people in the city's decision-making processes.

Jessica grew silent. Her countenance shifted in phases, quickly moving from shock to discomfort before finally settling on a hybrid between disappointment and embarrassment.

children who have spent most of their lives living, playing, and learning in the United States.

The US government monitors her husband's movements through an ankle bracelet - a Department of Homeland Security alternative to the detention of women and children. The family now awaits hearings before an immigration judge.

When mothers and their children first began reaching the border in large numbers, many were released into the community. As the numbers soared, the government began to detain families longer and deport them faster, a strategy that has come under scrutiny in and out of court.

What the hell am I (and who the hell cares)?

It’s surreal, but I’m proud of us. We don’t fuck people to get what we need. I hardly go home, I don’t have much of a life, but that’s my choice. It’s a sometimes dysfunctional, but feminist victory nonetheless. My reluctance to speak about my role as a “woman in rock” has been more about pointing out my work ethic than my niche vagina

HUMANS! There isn’t one core group that sticks out, I found: it seems to be a bunch of self-aware folks, mostly women, some in clumps and some alone, who (to whatever extremes) think everyone should get their fair shake.

It’s akin to using the word “lion” for all lions, female and male; not strange at all. It makes sense and there’s no need to worry about political correctness or leaving people out. We can just omit extraneous “Mizz” and “Sirs” and whatnot. In the eyes of the law and the universe, we are “men”. This is not practical at the doctor when getting a physical and other biological exams per se, but it works for most things.

Awards & Acclaim Submissions Contact Us Advertising DonateGive NowWhy Give? How to Give Why Give? How to Give Store Bad Feminist By Roxane Gay

What No O

Oh wow, women get to be lawyers,’ but that men get to be casualized clerks.”

only 12 percent of the jobs lost during the recession, while men have regained 63 percent of the jobs they lost

“While we all worry about the glass ceiling, there are millions of women standing in the basement—and the basement is flooding.”

Female-dominated sectors such as retail sales, food service, and home health care are some of the fastest-growing fields in the new economy, and even in those fields, women earn less;

All feminists are angry instead of passionate.

“You’re some kind of feminist, aren’t you?” His tone made it clear that to be a feminist was undesirable. I was not being a good woman. I remained silent, stewing. I thought, “Isn’t it obvious I am a feminist, albeit not a very good one?”

We see this tension in socially dictated beauty standards—the right way to be a woman is to be thin, to wear make up, to wear the right kind of clothes (not too slutty, not too prude, show a little leg, ladies

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who were all, "Heeeeeey bros, we were thinking that maybe if you're not busy we could get the right to vote and stuff please maybe?" Then they proceeded to righteously fuck shit up until the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920, which gave American women the vote

To deny these things makes you, at worst, a bad person who hates women, including but not limited to: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, your mother, Jennifer Lopez's mother, Jennifer Garner's Aunt Marcy, Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher, Julie Andrews, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kraken Kardashian, Karphone Kardashian, Kickball Kardashian, Kornkob Kardashian, and THE VIRGIN FUCKING MARY. At best, it makes you a complacent idiot

If you are a person alive in the world, other people, both men and women, have told you that all feminists are hairy, reactionary, undersexed, man-hating bitches who need to quit cryin' (because we have suffrage now! And Roombas!)

uture always seems like something that is going to happen rather than something that is happening;

cognitive dissonance between changing-reality-as-experienced and change as imagined

He,smokesMarlboro100'sbutwearsacapthatsays"Winston.

bright-yellowpopcornthatstinksofsalt;