A 60-day public-comment period began Monday for a proposed policy that would allow illegal immigrants who are immediate family members of U.S. citizens to remain with their families longer while applying for permanent residency.

People can submit their input on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' proposal at regulations.gov through June 1.

The rule would allow illegal immigrants, through a provisional waiver, to remain with their families longer if they could demonstrate that separation would pose an extreme hardship on their spouse, parents or children.

The government expects the rule to reduce the financial and emotional hardship for families of illegal immigrants and also increase efficiencies in processing visas.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates the 10-year cost for the law, if approved, would be between $100 million and $304 million. Waiver applicants would also be required to submit biometric information, such as electronic fingerprints. Cost for gathering the biometric data is estimated between $28 million and $42.5 million over a 10-year period.

Joe Olague, the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens Inland Empire Council 3163 in San Bernardino, believes the waivers are a step in the right direction. He said he has seen too many families ripped apart through deportation.

'My experience with that is the children are the ones who suffer,' Olague said. 'It's heartbreaking.'

Olague recalls a 4-year-old girl sobbing uncontrollably, after her father, who lived in the U.S. illegally for 23 years, was stopped on the way to work by a police officer for a broken tail light. He was arrested and deported.

Then there was the woman who had dropped her teenage children off at school, made an illegal U-turn and was deported after authorities determined she was in the country illegally. A witness to the arrest had to tell the family what happened, Olague said.

He said neither had any criminal record and were hardworking individuals.

'That's why you have a lot of illegal immigrants here being fearful of law enforcement,' Olague said. 'Fear overcomes a person when they're put in this awkward situation.'

Under the current system, U.S. citizens are subjected to months of separation from their family members as they await their cases to be processed, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement on Friday.

'The proposed change will have tremendous impact on families by significantly reducing the time of separation,' Mayorkas said in the statement.

Once the public-comment period concludes, immigration officials will review all comments and make any changes deemed necessary before issuing a final ruling, said USCIS spokeswoman Mariana Gitomer.

'They estimate (the law) will take effect before or toward the end of the year,' Gitomer said.