Illegal youth in Southwest Florida get a chance to work legally
President Obama's special executive order protects them from prosecution
CREATED Aug. 15, 2012 - UPDATED: Aug. 15, 2012
WFTX - Some illegal immigrants in Southwest Florida and across the nation are getting the chance to become U.S. Citizens.
Young illegal immigrants throughout Florida have begun applying for the chance to avoid deportation and earn a work permit.
Advocates and lawyers gathered Wednesday in Miami, Orlando and other cities around the state to help youths who may qualify.
The new policy was announced by President Barack Obama in June. It allows immigrants who are 30 or younger and arrived in the United States before they turned 16 to apply.
They must have been living in the United States for at least five years and be in school or graduated or served in the military.
They cannot have been convicted of certain crimes.
The Migration Policy Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center estimate as many as 1.7 million people could be eligible.
It's part of a new Obama administration initiative called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Republican lawmakers say the program is an effort by the president to circumvent Congress after it failed to pass a law that would have accomplished the same thing.
For much of Antonio Alarcon's life, his parents have gone missing.
"I have lived, probably most, one-third of my life without them," he says.
They left him in Mexico at age 6 to go work illegally in the U.S.
They brought him across a desert to the U.S. at age 11, but then they were forced to go back for good.
"I took the decision to stay here because I think I had better future in education in the United States than Mexico," he says.
Now, he feels like he made the right decision.
Now 17 years-old, he is one of as many as 1.7 million illegal immigrants who are now eligible for a 2 year break from prosecution, according to the Pew Hispanic Research Center.
"This is not amnesty," says President Obama.
"This is not immunity," he adds.
"This is not a path to citizenship and it's not a permanent fix."
The President's executive order helping the so-called "Dream Act" kids came even as the Obama administration deported record numbers of immigrants.
"Obama has deported more people than any other president in this country's history," says one critic.
The President is under attack from conservatives for being too soft on immigration.
The new immigration rules also allow the students to apply for u-s work permits.
"We have profound unemployment levels structural problems in the labor market," says on of the president's critics.
"And now all of a sudden, right before the election he is claiming this newfound authority to virtually allow limitless numbers of people to come in."
"I think I contribute to this country," says Alarcon.
"We pay, I mean I'm going to pay taxes next year."
"So I think that makes me part of this country too," he says.
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