Colo. illegal immigrants hoping for exemption

About 200,000 young illegal immigrants in Colorado may qualify for an exemption under a federal program that provides temporary relief and work permits for immigrants who entered the country as children.

Immigrants from Mexico, Eastern Europe, Honduras, Colombia and Guatemala attended meetings in Grand Junction recently to learn about the program.

According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (http://tinyurl.com/b8mf7lp), many young people waited until after the election to see if the federal program would continue.

If accepted, immigrants in the two-year program will not be deported and could be eligible to work legally, but it would leave them no path to residency or citizenship.