Congress has already started to discuss the possibility of halting the deportations of young men and women who qualify for regularizing their immigration status under the DREAM Act [pending legislation that would give eligible undocumented youth a 6-year path to citizenship through the completion of a college degree or two years of military service], and also for those who would benefit from the AgJOBS program [pending legislation that would allow undocumented farmworkers the opportunity to gain legal status]. 

This is the famous Plan B which has been discussed for some time now among activist groups, in case the efforts to push through an immigration reform bill this year fail. 

It is an idea that can at least be discussed now, given the absence of a bi-partisan dialogue and consensus of the Democrats' proposal for immigration reform.

In fact, on April 21 a letter signed by senators from both parties, Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to consider such an option for young people who qualify for the DREAM Act. 

At this moment, the Obama Administration has not yet formulated a response, but Democratic Party sources in the Senate have assured us that there are "conversations on this subject going on."

This Monday, the young people who made up the Trail of Dreams march [four students who walked from Miami to Washington DC to raise awareness for undocumented youth brought to the US as kids who now wish to attend college] met with Presidential Adviser Valerie Jarrett in Washington, where they expressed their support of the Durbin and Lugar petition.  Jarrett responded that the White House, along with their lawyers, will "analyze the possibility of putting out an executive order, and we will give you a response," according to a declaration published by the group after the meeting. 

In a session yesterday of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn (R-TX) questioned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas several times with respect to whether the Administration is considering a general postponement of the deportations of DREAM Act and AgJOBS beneficiaries, rather than on a case-by-case basis as is the practice at present.  Mayorkas responded to this query that he "would hesitate to state that such an option was not being considered." 

The legislator specified that "so dramatic a change in policy would be of concern for Congress.  I would hope that when we consider such subjects, that we consider all aspects at the same time and not do it piecemeal, which would make it more difficult for us to work on an immigration reform proposal."