"[T]he more families apply, the harder it is for Republicans to take it away"

“We’re telling all our families to get ready to apply if they qualify, because the more families apply, the harder it is for Republicans to take it away,” said Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, one of the main groups organizing the event.
Mr. Obama will offer three-year deportation deferrals and work permits to at least 3.5 million immigrants who have been living in the United States for five years, have no serious criminal records and have a child who is an American citizen or legal permanent resident. The president also expanded a 2012 program for young immigrants. The federal agency in charge, Citizenship and Immigration Services, will begin in mid-February to accept applications for the youth program. Applications by the parents will begin in mid-May.

Many who lined up beginning at 7 a.m. and flocked into a vast hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center said they would have no trouble proving their histories in this country. When organizers asked how many Mexicans were in the room, thousands of hands shot up. Two-thirds of the immigrants eligible nationwide will be from Mexico, according to Pew Research Center…

“All those children are going to be voters,” Ms. Salas said, “and those voters are going to remember who stood with their dad and their mom.”