A study was conducted by Glendale Community College (California) in 1991 to obtain information about amnesty applicants participating in programs offered by the California community colleges. Two sets of data were used for the study. The first set was collected as part of a spring 1989 needs assessment survey in English as a Second Language classrooms at 26 colleges (n=2,298), and the second was gathered through a 1991 telephone survey of students who had begun amnesty classes at three colleges in the fall of 1988-89 (n=293). Key findings included the following: (1) amnesty applicants of Mexican origin were a distinctive subpopulation within both the Latino communities and the ESL student population; (2) this amnesty group was greatly interested in education and related economic opportunities; (3) amnesty applicants' ability to participate in educational programs was constrained by a lack of information, weak educational background, a need to maintain employment, and parenting responsibilities; (4) the 40 hours of English language training mandated in the Amnesty Program was insufficient for the needs of the population; (5) English language usage by the group correlated positively with income; and (6) students receiving more support services demonstrated greater interest in pursuing educational opportunities. Recommendations focused on the improvement of research on, outreach to, and program design and delivery for the amnesty population. Appendixes contain the survey instruments and tallied responses. Fourteen references are included. (JSP)