Barack Obama declared he would protect almost five million people living in the US illegally from deportation in a sweeping unilateral action that is among the most bold and contentious moves of his presidency.
Unveiling his executive action in a primetime address from the White House on Thursday, Obama described the move as “a commonsense, middle ground approach” that would enable undocumented migrants the chance to register their presence in the country.
“Let’s be honest,” Obama said. “Tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic... It’s also not who we are as Americans.”
The executive action, previewed by the White House in advance of the speech, combines increased resources for border security with a directive from the Department of Homeland Security that orders immigration removal authorities to focus on “deporting felons, not families”.
The most far-reaching aspect of the executive action involves giving undocumented migrants who are the parents of US citizens or permanent legal residents the chance to come out of the shadows.
Those eligible under the program will need to have been in the country for more than five years, pass a criminal background check and submit biometric data. If successful, they will gain relief from deportation, work permits and de facto permission to remain the country. That program alone could benefit more than 2.5 million people.
The White House also announced an expansion to Obama’s 2012 deferred action against childhood arrivals (Daca) order, under which he shielded from deportation young people, born after 1981, who were brought to the country illegally by their parents before 2007.
The expanded program for so-called Dreamers will apply to all undocumented migrants who were brought to the country illegally as children before 2010, irrespective of their age now.
Obama’s actions have infuriated Republicans who argue that he is overstepping his powers to enact what amounts to an “amnesty” to illegal immigrants.
Republicans, who retook control of the Senate with a wave of midterm election victories earlier this month, vowed to undermine the presidential action through the legislature.
“If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act,” the incoming Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on the eve of the president’s remarks. “We’re considering a variety of actions. But make no mistake, when the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act.”
The Republican speaker of the House, John Boehner, said: “Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he’s acting on his own.” He added: “The president has said before that ‘he’s not king’ and he’s ‘not an emperor,’ but he’s sure acting like one.”
In excerpts of the speech pre-released by the White House Obama disputed that his moves were tantamount to an amnesty.
“Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character,” he said.
The president’s action will not benefit the parents of Dreamers after Justice Department lawyers advised Obama that such a move would overstep the powers vested in the White House.
“What I’m describing is accountability – a common-sense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the US illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.”
He added: “The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican President and every Democratic President for the past half century. And to those Members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: pass a bill.”
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