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Obama Administration To Start Taking DACA Requests Feb. 18

Image: Activists Demonstrate Against FL's Attorney General Pam Bondi Backing Of Lawsuit Against Obama's Immigration Action
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 22: Protesters gather to ask that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi withdraw the state of Florida from the list of 25 states that joined a lawsuit against U.S. President Barack Obama's Executive Action on Immigration on January 22, 2015 in Miami, Florida. The lawsuit that Bondi supports aims to stop the Presidents recent executive action on immigration, halting the implementation of DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability) and stopping hte expansion of DACA, which could allow up to 5 million people to apply for work permits and live without the fear of deportation. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Joe Raedle / Getty Images

The administration has announced it will begin taking applications for an expansion of deportation relief for young immigrants in the country illegally.

Applications for expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, are being accepted beginning Feb. 18, Citizenship and Immigration Services stated in a Thursday evening update to its website.

The applications are for immigrants who entered or stayed in the country illegally since before they were 16 and lived in the country since Jan. 1, 2010. Previously DACA was limited to young immigrants illegally in the country since Jan. 1, 2007. Also the immigrants can be of any age for the latest version of DACA, which also provides a thre- year work permit.

Several non-profit groups have been assisting young immigrants with their applications to ensure they are correctly filled out and submitted with proper documentation. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plan a workshop Sunday in Chicago to educate immigrants about the expanded DACA and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. Officials have said they'll begin accepting applications for DAPA in mid-May. Gutiérrez plans other workshops in other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, several states have sued to prevent the executive actions from moving forward and House Speaker John Boehner has said he'll also sue. A bill providing the money to keep the Department of Homeland Security running is hung up over GOP attempts to end the immigration executive actions taken by Obama.

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