Here at ERHS, where there are both documented and undocumented immigrants, opinions for and against illegal immigration circulated following President Barack Obama’s November 2014 speech on immigration.

According to whitehouse.gov, President Obama said that he hopes his actions will “make our immigration system more fair and more just,” and that people will “deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.”

His speech has prompted respect and disrespect towards the immigration system.

Many students support the sentiments from President Obama’s speech.

Senior Judith Alvarado said she believes that the new law is supportive. “It’s good for the illegal immigrants doing the right thing here,” Alvarado said.

An anonymous documented student shared opinions on this new law. “It’s really good.” The student continued, “There are people that come here to provide a good life to their kids, a good life that they might not get in their country ‘cause how much bad things happen there. It helps families that don’t have documents.”

According to his speech, Obama suggests that if a person has “been in America for more than five years,” and has “children who are American citizens or legal residents,” including some other requisites, they should “be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation.”

One undocumented student who also prefered to remain anonymous shared that the new system “helps me in many ways by giving me opportunity to have a better job and provide my family in my country a better life.”

The student continued that “the new law will benefit some immigrants but some others it will not but this is a good law because there will be a lot of opportunities for the people like my family.”

School security officer Vanessa Delgado said she believes that this new law “will be good” for the nation, because undocumented immigrants “will be able to work here and can provide for their kids and family.”

However, there are also those who disagree with this law.

A student who does not support President Obama’s recent actions on immigration, who also preferred to remain anonymous, thought that most illegal immigrants should be deported. Of President Obama, this student said, “I think he should go through the Congress and the Senate, because he’s just making partisanship worst.”

As members of the House try to undo actions done by Obama, it remains to be seen the exact future of immigration policies in this country.