Young Illegal Immigrants to Apply for Reprieve

A program that begins Wednesday will grant work permits and deportation deferrals to eligible illegal immigrants across the country, including those in the Los Angeles area.

The Obama administration's immigration initiative could give more than one million illegal immigrants a chance to live and work in the country without fear of deportation, according to a New York Times report.

The program gives work permits and two-year deportation deferrals to illegal immigrants who were brought here as children, according to the Times report.

Local immigrants will turn in their applications Wednesday at an event in Westwood organized by United We Dream, a network of youth-led immigrant organizations from across the country.

Immigrants need to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the program. They must have been under the age of 31 on June 15, when the program was announced. They must have come to the country before they were 16 and have continuously lived here since June 15, 2007. They also must be in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, or honorably discharged from the military, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

If granted work permits under this program, young immigrants can get valid Social Security numbers and apply for driver's licenses and financial aid for college, the New York Times reported. For more on the program, click here.

Of the about 1.2 million foreign-born people currently eligible to apply, about 460,000 live in California, according to the report. 

Read the full New York Times story here.

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