The United States will begin accepting applications tomorrow for qualifying illegal immigrants to be granted a two year reprieve from deportation.
The program is called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. People who were brought here illegally as children, if they’re under 31 years old and in school or have finished high school, can qualify. If they do qualify, they can apply for a work permit. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials were careful to note that it's not an amnesty program.
CIS director Alejandro Mayorkas said, "Allow me to underscore a point that we have made previously. Deferred action does not provide lawful status or a pathway to permanent residence for citizenship."
What isn’t clear yet is how qualifying immigrants will be viewed by states. CIS officials say only that tuition rules vary widely from state to state. As for driver’s licenses, that’s another unknown. A spokesman for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said Arizona still hasn’t received clear definitions from Homeland Security.