Irvin X. takes the Gold Line to school every day.

The soft-spoken 20-year-old is one of several thousand DREAMers -- undocumented youth who would have qualified for permanent residency if the federal DREAM act had passed -- that have applied for deferred action, a program started by the Obama administration that has already postponed 200,000 deportations since last June.

Deferred action will not provide a pathway to citizenship for Irvin X., nor will it change his immigration status. It will, however, allow him to obtain government identification. Irvin has a serious medical condition which forced him to leave Georgia for California a year ago – Georgia stopped funding his treatment on his 18th birthday. California will stop paying for treatment in October.

Irvin X. was one of many undocumented immigrants who spoke at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights on March 8 during a Coming Out Of The Shadows event, sponsored by the Immigrant Youth Coalition, Mujeres de Mais and the National Day Laborers Organizing Network. March 8 also marked the first year anniversary of Irvin's move to Los Angeles for medical purposes. On that day, Irvin opened up about how the struggles of living as an undocumented immigrant in the US have torn his family apart and complicated his medical treatment. At the same time, he talked about how he's found a network of people who've helped him find a place to stay. 

Below are three shots from a photo essay on Irvin X., the entirety of which can be found on Neon Tommy's Flickr page. 

Irvin X. has kidney failure. Every night he hooks himself up to a dialysis machine to pumps out the excess phosphorus and sodium that develops in his bloodstream. A day without treatment leaves him "puffy eyes." Two days leave him with a puffy stomach.

Last year, Irvin moved to Los Angeles from Atlanta, Georgia -- unlike Georgia's Medicaid program, which stopped funding Irvin's treatment when was 18, Medi-Cal will cover his dialysis treatment until he turns 21 in October. He's currently applying for the deferred action program so he can apply for a job and hopefully afford future treatment. He says he's "nowhere near" consideration for the kidney transplant list, but for now, he's stable. "My treatment's going well. The doctors help me in every way they can."

Irvin X. sits on a bench at Mariachi Plaza. The rally on March 8 marked the first year anniversary of Irvin's move to Los Angeles. For Irvin, it's not a happy moment. One of the hardest issues for Irvin to cope with is the fact he's separated from the rest of his family. "I haven't seen my dad in two years. I haven't seen my mom in a year."

SEE MORE: Visit Neon Tommy's Flickr account to see the entire photo essay.

These photos were taken in collaboration with "Views From A Windowless Room," an undergraduate photojournalism lab at USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. Like "Views From A Windowless Room" on Facebook.

Reach Aaron Liu here.