Obama plans immigration reform, uses executive power

President Obama is poised to take unilateral action on immigration reform despite claims that such actions would reach beyond the power of the executive office.

One of the aspects of the president’s planned action includes granting temporary work permits to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants.

Obama has hinted at an expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an executive order that shielded millions of undocumented youth from deportation. The current criteria for deferred action under the law allows migrants who came to the U.S. before age 16, are under age 31, have lived here five years, completed schooling and have no criminal record to apply for postponed removal in two-year increments.

Immigration advocates say the president may also create a new deferred action program that could cover millions of undocumented immigrant adults who are parents of children currently protected under DACA.

The expected plan, which may be announced as early as this week, could lift the threat of deportation from millions of undocumented immigrants.

Republicans are preparing ways to block the president’s action on immigration. Moreover, critics are lashing out in anticipation of independent reform by Obama, emphasizing the president’s long-held stance against such a move.

In the past, warnings have been raised that further executive action on immigration would be “violating our laws,” and “very difficult to defend legally.”

Such warnings have come not from critics, but rather the president himself.

“I am president, I am not king. I can't do these things just by myself,” Obama said on Oct. 25, 2010.

On Tuesday, when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked specifically about this quote and its relation to Obama’s action on immigration, he said, “Obviously, there are some things that have changed in this.”

Obama’s management of immigration reform with Congress to reform current policy has led to a 31 percent approval rating, according to Gallup. The President’s consideration of executive action came after he was unable to reach a compromise on immigration reform with Republicans in Congress.

Contact reporter Adam Gibson at adam.gibson@richmond.edu