Michael and Rekha Sharma-Crawford expect their office phones to begin ringing today – and for weeks to come. Their Kansas City immigration law firm has been affected by almost every administration and court decision regarding immigration legislation over the past nine years. Today’s announcement by the Obama Administration and the Department of Homeland Security is significant.

“Politics aside, decisions like this and changes in policy stir up questions and activity throughout the immigrant community,” said Michael Sharma-Crawford. “Today we must understand the Administration’s policy announcement and advise a large segment of the Kansas City community on how this might impact individuals and families for years to come.”

According to today’s announcement, the Obama administration will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives.

The policy change, announced today by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, will affect as many as 800,000 immigrants nationwide and a large Kansas and Missouri population who have lived in fear of deportation.

According to early reading of the Administration’s policy, illegal immigrants will be immune from deportation if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are currently  younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military. They also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years, with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.

“Regardless of how politics impacts this decision in the weeks and months to follow, we do know that many lives in our local Kansas City immigrant community are significantly affected by today’s decision,” added Sharma-Crawford.