(Photo by Jude Joffe-Block - KJZZ)

The border fence seen near Nogales, Arizona.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is giving new guidance that’s intended to clarify how it determines if someone’s family is going to experience “extreme hardship” if that person isn’t admitted into this country.

The agency has discretion, and the new guidance is intended to clarify what conditions need to be met. Some have expressed concern that the current vagueness has kept a number of people in the shadows, rather than taking a chance on asking for an extreme hardship qualifier and potentially being deported.

Evelyn Cruz, a clinical-law professor at ASU’s O’Connor College of Law, disucsses possible changes by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.