Romney Would Honor Permits Granted to Young Immigrants Under Obama Order

If elected, Mitt Romney would honor the work permits granted to undocumented young people under an executive order President Obama signed in June, the Republican candidate said in an interview with The Denver Post. The executive order, a short-term alternative to the DREAM Act that President Obama and others favor, halts the deportation of youth whose parents came to the United States illegally and have met certain other criteria, and gives them the right to apply for a two-year work permit. Some young people have begun to take advantage of the opportunity, but others express concern that the policy could be reversed under a Romney administration, causing trouble for them or their families.

But in the interview with the Denver newspaper, Romney said: "The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I'm not going to take something that they've purchased. Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I've proposed."