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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is considering a plan that would shield possibly around 5 million immigrants living in the country illegally from deportation as part of a broad set of executive actions that President Barack Obama could announce as early as next week, people familiar with the discussions say.
Obama has pledged to move on the measures by year's end, and White House officials are debating whether to act soon after he returns this weekend from his current trip to Asia and Australia or wait until after Congress approves a major spending bill in December.
A senior Obama administration official said it's possible Obama's immigration announcement could come next week, but the official said the president hadn't made a decision yet either about timing or content of the decision.
Several officials said Obama still hasn't received formal recommendations from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, but they said Obama is well acquainted with the realm of possibilities. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the status of the decision publicly.
The 5 million estimate includes extending deportation protections to parents and spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years. The president is also likely to expand his 2-year-old program that protects young immigrants from deportation.
Such a step would represent an expansive use of Obama's executive authority. The step would fall shy of what many immigrant advocates have been demanding, but is sure to enrage Republicans who are already trying to devise ways to thwart his actions.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/house-dems-push-obama-immigration-212059997.html
"We're going to fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path. This is the wrong way to govern. This is exactly what the American people said on Election Day they didn't want," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "And so, all the options are on the table."
Some conservatives in the House and Senate announced plans to push for language in must-pass spending bills to block the president from acting. But other Republicans warned that such a push could result in another government shutdown like the one last year over Obama's health care plan.
"My sense is that the vast majority of us want to do everything we can to stop it, but also want to avoid outcomes that would prove bad for the country as a whole," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. It wasn't clear, though, what other options Republicans had.
