Half of eligible immigrants sign up for deferred deportation program

Stifled by a variety of obstacles — from fees to fear — fewer than half of those eligible for immigration relief have taken advantage of an Obama administration program launched a year ago, according to a new study.

About 49% of those eligible have applied for a work permit and a two-year reprieve from possible deportation, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington D.C. that studies the worldwide movement of people.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which is intended to protect a group of people who came to the United States as children and stayed illegally.

Currently, 1.09 million people in the nation qualify for the program, which halts the deportation of those who are under 31-years-old and meet certain requirements, the institute reported ...

Cornejo [Carmen Cornejo, an adviser with The Arizona Dream Act Coalition] said that one of the biggest impediments for those who are in the country illegally and qualify for the program can be linked to the $465 fee ...

Currently, immigration officials have denied 1% — a little more than 5,000 — of all applications ...

CAIRCO Research