Last month, President Obama stated that he would do as much as he could on his own to fix the U.S. immigration system in light of Congress’s failure to pass immigration reform this session. According to White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer, such executive action might come as soon as the end of the summer.
Although it is unclear at this point what direction the President’s action might take, Officials have indicated that the move will shield approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants, roughly half of the undocumented population currently in the U.S., from deportation. One avenue that has been suggested would be to allow undocumented parents of U.S. citizens to apply for some sort of temporary lawful status. Another avenue would be to allow parents of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to receive temporary status as well.
The move, if and when it happens, is likely to incite a reaction from Republicans, who have already been pursuing political and legal avenues against the President alleging he has exceeded executive authority. Additionally, the President’s plans have been criticized by conservatives for coming amidst the current humanitarian crisis at the border.