I reported on June 17 about how President Barack Obama, through executive action, deferred deportation and prosecution of those illegal immigrants age 30 and under who were brought to the US  by their parents. The change in policy dominated the news cycle for a  week or two.

At  the time, the President said the impact would be on about 800,000 such  individuals. Yesterday, the Administration upped that figure by more  than double. The Administration is saying the actual number of illegal  immigrants who will be granted residence status is 1.76 million.

The  more-than-double figure is a result of the Administration changing the  guidelines and expanding the rules of who can qualify for the residency  visas.  Those new guidelines were announced this past Friday.

Under  the previous guidelines, one had to be under 30, graduated from high  school and have no criminal history. The new guidelines expand this to  include those who have received a G.E.D.  Those individuals who have not  received a G.E.D. must re-enroll in high school by the time they apply  for residency status.

Applications  for the program will begin the 15th of this month online. The cost to  apply is $500, which the Administration says will cover the cost. The applicant pays the fee.

From  the Cornfield, this Admiinistration does seem to have problems with  numbers. Most figures released are revised on almost a daily basis.

One  has to wonder if the expansion of the guidelines is an attempt to spark  more enthusiasm within the Hispanic community. Polls show that while  over 2/3 of Hispanics favor the President, voter enthusiasm is not there  and turnout to vote is expected to be less than 2008 among the  community.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/deferred-action-program-could-legalize-1-8-million-221839009.html