For Young Immigrants With a Past, A Fear of Falling Into Policy's Grey Area

"Cecilio, 24, came to the United States from Mexico 11 years ago.  He’s expecting to graduate from Borough of Manhattan Community College next year with an Associate’s Degree in liberal arts.  Cecilio satisfies the age, residence and education requirements to be eligible for a work permit under President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy unveiled last week.  But he’s also used a fake Social Security number to work at a fast food restaurant for nearly 10 years.  He was also caught by Customs and Border Protection agents when he entered the U.S., and was immediately returned to his native Mexico.  A day later, he made a second, successful, attempt to come to the U.S.  “I was kind of happy,” he said, referring to Friday, when he heard about the new policy.  “But at the same time I was like, ‘OK, we need to see first what are the requirements.’”   For those who have medical, school and employment records to prove these requirements and clean criminal records stand a fair chance of being approved for deferred action, legal experts said.  But for those like Cecilio, whose petition might include arrests, convictions and repeat immigration violations, things get more complicated and the end result of their application difficult to predict." - Mirela Iverac, June 22, 2012.