President Obama will tell Americans Thursday night that his executive action granting legal status to nearly 5 million illegal immigrants is “lawful,” and he will dare Republican critics in Congress to pass legislation to fix the system.
“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,” Mr. Obama will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by the White House.
The president will call his executive order “common sense,” and will say that the only “amnesty” would be to leave the broken immigration system the way it is.
“Mass amnesty would be unfair,” Mr. Obama will say. “Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character.”
“What I’m describing is accountability — a commonsense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law,” the president will say. “If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.
Mr. Obama will assert that his order is similar to “the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican president and every Democratic president for the past half century” — something his critics have sharply disputed.
The president is also broadening his 2012 directive that deferred deportation for some young immigrants who entered the country illegally, according to a White House fact sheet.
Applications for the new deportation deferrals will begin next spring, according to administration officials who insisted on anonymity in order to preview the president’s decisions ahead of his remarks.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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