Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The White House will halt the deportation of as many as 800,000 young illegal immigrants and in some cases give them work permits, in a sweeping new initiative announced by the Department of Homeland Security. People under 30 who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas when they were under the age of 16 will be immune from deportation if they have not committed a significant misdemeanor or felony and have graduated from a U.S. high school or joined the military. They can apply for a renewable two-year work permit, which will not provide a path to citizenship but will allow them to work legally in the country. Applicants will have to prove they have lived in the country for five consecutive years. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the move “is the right thing to do,” and will help the agency focus on deporting criminals. “It is not immunity; it is not amnesty,” she said. “It is an exercise of discretion so that these young people are not in the removal system.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Jay Sefton in ‘Unreconciled’ (barebones theater company)
”Unreconciled” looks abuse, disregard and callousness in the eye and witnesses instead to radical kindness.
Elise L. RyanApril 04, 2025
‘A Man Escaped’ is a story of a man seeking temporal salvation, but Robert Bresson’s film takes on deeper meaning, becoming a parable of the Spirit.
John DoughertyApril 04, 2025
The thought of losing Pope Francis one day is a hard one for me to grapple with; I know my reasons why. What surprised me was how many of my non-Catholic friends, even those whose feelings toward the church are decisively negative, also expressed their care and concern.
Molly CahillApril 04, 2025
How is Catholic Charities navigating political opposition to their work with migrants?
JesuiticalApril 04, 2025