In Chicago, close to 10,000 young people brought to the United States as children thronged to a forum last week to learn how to apply to avoid deportation through "deferred action."

In Hawaii, the number of illegal immigrants eligible to apply immediately for the reprieve is far smaller — an estimated 2,380 people age 15 to 30 statewide, most of them from Asia. A workshop to help them explore their options is scheduled next week at First United Methodist Church in Honolulu.

"We have no idea how many people are going to show up," said John Egan, an immigration attorney who is volunteering to help at the event. "We’re trying to be prepared to handle whoever does show up.

"The people who are potentially eligible for this opportunity need to know how to avail themselves of it," he said.

Immigration lawyers and community volunteers will be on hand at the workshop to answer questions and provide information about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The event is sponsored by Faith Action for Community Equity, Catholic Charities Hawaii and the Hawaii Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting applications last week from people who came to the country as children, grew up here and pose no threat to national security or public safety. The initiative was billed as an exercise of "prosecutorial discretion" by the Obama administration, after Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act.

It will protect immigrants who meet certain conditions from deportation for two years, with renewals possible, and allow them to work legally in the United States. Unlike the DREAM Act, the program does not give them a path to citizenship.

Applicants must have arrived in the country before age 16, lived here continuously for at least five years, and have been no older than age 30 on June 15. They must be in school, have graduated, or have an honorable discharge from the military, and not have been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor.

Children living in the country without legal permission may attend public schools under a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibits discrimination on the basis of immigration status. Once they graduate from high school, however, they land in limbo, unable to get legitimate work, apply for financial aid for college, or get Social Security numbers.

If approved for deferred action, high school graduates who meet all the criteria will be eligible for work permits, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and scholarships for college.

Even before the federal initiative was announced on June 15, some youth had begun coming out publicly to share their stories in hopes of shifting public policy. Among them is Maria Rodriguez, a student at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., who took part in a forum at the University of Hawaii at Manoa earlier this year to help raise awareness.

"I came at age 3 from Mexico," Rodriguez said, adding that she grew up doing everything a good American should do. "I volunteered, did extracurriculars and graduated at the top of my class.

"Cheesy as it may sound, I’m undocumented, unafraid and unashamed," she said. "I’m tired of us being marginalized and labeled as criminals when we’re not."

Federal authorities have said information on deferred action applications will not be shared with enforcement authorities. But most undocumented immigrants are wary of disclosing their status, for fear of deportation. And it is hard to gauge their numbers.

An analysis by the Immigration Policy Center released last month gives a rare state-by-state look at the demographics of immigrants in the United States illegally. It used data from the Office of Immigration Statistics and the American Community Survey to produce its projections.

Nationally, the nonprofit group estimated that 936,930 immigrants age 15 to 30 could be helped immediately by the decision, with another 426,330 younger people likely to become eligible if the initiative remains in place. Nearly half of them are in California and Texas, and most of them are Mexican.

In Hawaii, it said, roughly 2,380 people are eligible immediately, with another 860 people ages 5 to 14 becoming eligible in the future. The bulk of those eligible — 73 percent — are from Asia. Mexicans represent just 7 percent of the total.

Hawaii’s immigration picture differs from the norm on the U.S. mainland because of the state’s remote location. With no land border to cross, most everyone arrives in the islands by airplane, with travel documents. Many simply overstay their visas.

"If you get here legally, you have a different set of opportunities than if you arrive illegally," said Egan, the immigration lawyer. "The longer you are here, the more equities you build up, and the more family ties you have, the stronger your case not to be deported."

He advised that youth seeking to apply for a deferral, which carries a $465 fee, be wary of "scammers" and work only with legitimate authorities.

"The main thing that people should know is there are scammers out there who are more than happy to take money and deliver no services," Egan said. "That’s always been the case in immigration situations. Get your information from reliable sources like the government itself or reliable community groups."