BREAKING: Dream 9, Youth Mexican Nationals, Will Likely Be Granted Asylum Today, Says Lawyer

More than two weeks after the DREAM 9, a group of young Mexican nationals who at some point were living in the U.S. illegally, attempted to re-enter the country in protests of its immigration laws, seven of them have been found by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to have enough political grounds to receive asylum. The nine youths are being held in an Arizona detention center, and the seven who have received approval could be released later Wednesday, according to a lawyer with the case. Those released will be able to acquire a work permit in the future.

"It's not surprising," immigration attorney Matthew Kolken, who is not representing the activists, but said he had given their representatives some guidance before their protest, told Fox News Latino. "Most of my clients are able to establish credible fear. But it's a first step [for the activists]. The good news is that the Obama administration's general policy is to release individuals who establish credible fear."

In order to receieve asylum, applicants must prove that there is credible fear of political persecution. The move comes as a surprise as experts questioned whether the group could prove that they feared living in Mexico as all but two returned of their own free will. The actions of the protesters have drawn controversy from immigration advocates in lawyers, some hailing them as heroes and others saying their actions were reckless.

It will ultimately be up to a federal immigration judge to decide of the DREAM 9 may stay in the U.S. permanently. The ruling could take years to announce. The direction of the DREAM 9 case could heavily influence the immigration battle, immigration experts say.

"I think this is the largest story in the history of immigration law," Kolken said. "The only one that can rival this is the John Lennon deportation case. This is Rosa Parks sitting in the front of the bus."