New York Times quotes the Director of the USCIS “We are under way to prepare for [giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants]“. The NY Times article further quotes the USCIS Director “Mr. Obama has told immigration officials that a legalization program would be part of legislation the White House would propose”. There are no official estimates of the number of illegal immigrants who would apply for legal documents. The Pew Hispanic Center and the Center for Immigration Studies, two research groups in Washington, estimate that at least 10.8 million illegal immigrants live in this country. But a large number of those would not be eligible for legal status for many reasons, including past immigration violations.