Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                 US Rolls Out Illegal Immigrant Relief Program

   by VOA News

   Young illegal immigrants in the United States are lining up to register
   for a new program that could keep them from being deported.
   The government's so-called Consideration of Deferred Action for
   Childhood Arrivals program took effect on Wednesday.
   The program allows young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally
   by their parents to temporarily remain in the country and work, without
   fear of deportation, if they meet certain requirements.
   Those requirements include being a student or serving in the military,
   and posing no criminal or security threat.
   Also, applicants must be under the age of 31 and must have arrived in
   the U.S. before turning 16.
   The Migration Policy Institute estimates as many as 1.8 million
   immigrants may be eligible. But group spokeswoman Michelle Mittelstadt
   tells VOA some potential applicants are worried about revealing their
   status.
   "There also is a concern among some that if they come forward and
   identify themselves to the government as being here illegally and they
   have to provide things like their names and their address, that they
   are potentially exposing themselves and risking exposing themselves for
   deportation and removal down the road," said Mittelstadt.
   Opponents of the policy say it amounts to amnesty. Jack Martin of the
   Federation for American Immigration Reform also says program recipients
   could wind up taking jobs from U.S. citizens at a time when the economy
   has not fully recovered.
   "That is a special issue of concern with an estimated 1.8 million
   individuals who may be receiving work permits at a time when we have
   many millions of Americans who are unemployed," said Martin.
   Illegal immigration is a controversial issue in the U.S. Some opponents
   say illegal immigration forces the government to spend money on social
   programs for aliens that otherwise could be used to help U.S. citizens.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-rolls-out-illegal-immigrant-relief
   -program/1488760.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-rolls-out-illegal-immigrant-relief-program/1488760.html