"Their parents have put them in a very difficult situation," said Roy Beck, director of Numbers USA, a Washington, D.C. group that advocates for reduced immigration levels. "We can't just keep having one amnesty after another without fixing the fundamental problem...We have magnets that invite people to become illegal aliens because we make it so easy for them to hold jobs."

Immigration control advocates hailed the slowdown, saying it would ease pressure on schools, hospitals and other public services, and open up wider job opportunities for U.S. citizens. "Any decline in immigration is good for most Americans and especially good for Hispanic Americans and black Americans," said Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, an immigration control group. "There will be less competition for jobs and less pressure on natural resources and public infrastructure."