According to a recent study, 48,000 of Utah’s undocumented immigrants will qualify for temporary amnesty as outlined in Thursday’s executive action by President Barack Obama. The report from the Migration Policy Institute shows that the 55 percent of undocumented immigrants in the state who now qualify for amnesty is the highest rate in the entire United States.
Under the executive action, more than 300,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children will be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. More than 4 million adults who have resided in the country for at least five years will also receive amnesty. According to the Migration Policy Institute, 51 percent of Utah’s undocumented migrants arrived within the last nine years, with 29 percent of those under the age of 25.
10,000 undocumented immigrants in Utah are married to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
