The Obama administration recently announced that it is lightening the pressure on low-priority deportation / removal cases, allowing certain undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States and eventually apply to work here.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stated that the move will allow the Department of Homeland Security to focus immigration resources (including the immigration courts) on more important cases, such as deportation cases involving undocumented immigrants with criminal records. According to Napolitano, the low-priority cases clog "immigration court dockets and divert DHS enforcement resources away from individuals who pose a threat to public safety."
Continue reading U.S. to Review Approximately 300,000 Deportation Cases