Young Undocumented Immigrants Seek Work Permits : NPR

Young Illegal Immigrants Seek Work Permits : NPR: It's been more than a month since the government began accepting requests for its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama administration's policy for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Hundreds of thousands of people are eligible for the program. So far, only 82,000 have applied.

Carlos Martinez is one of the 29 people who have actually gotten deferrals. It means that he won't be deported, and that he can get a work permit. Martinez applied for the deferred action program the first day.

Sitting in his parents' home in Tucson, Ariz., he's especially excited about the two-year work permit.

"There's so much out there, opportunities — opportunities I've been waiting for 15 years, pretty much," Martinez says.

There's so much out there, opportunities — opportunities I've been waiting for 15 years, pretty much.

- Carlos Martinez, 30

Martinez was brought to Tucson from Mexico by his parents at the age of 9. As a high school junior, he realized he was in the country illegally. He graduated from high school and earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in software engineering from the University of Arizona. That was seven years ago. Now at 30, he says he can finally use his skills to apply for a job at one of his dream companies.