President Barack Obama unveiled executive orders Thursday that would crack down on illegal immigration while also allowing some undocumented workers to stay in the country temporarily.

The main crux of the plan is to allow undocumented immigrants to temporarily stay in the country without fear of deportation for three years.

For that to happen, citizens must have been in the country for the last five years, have children who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, must register and pass background checks and pay taxes.

"Amnesty is the immigration system we have today: millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people or whip up votes at election time. That's the real amnesty," the president said.

"Mass amnesty would be unfair," he said. "Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character."

Jose and Socorro Rayes moved here illegally from Mexico 14 years ago.

“We're finally stepping up and doing what we've been waiting for for years,” said Leslie Rayes.

Rayes said her parents stayed home out of fear of being deported. But that's all changed now.

“I feel like I don't have to be scared for them anymore,” she said. "For them, I feel like they're gonna be really happy too."

Leslie said her family won't have to live in the shadows of the American Dream.

“I'm gonna tell (my parents), you don't have to worry about going out no more, and not coming home to us no more. You can go be you,” she laughed.

The White House sent out a fact sheet of what we can expect in tonight's speech.

"These executive actions crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay their fair share of taxes as they register to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

"These are common sense steps, but only Congress can finish the job. As the President acts, he’ll continue to work with Congress on a comprehensive, bipartisan bill—like the one passed by the Senate more than a year ago—that can replace these actions and fix the whole system."

President Obama said the executive orders would not affect anyone who did not fit those criteria.

The president also said that if Congress had a problem, they should pass their own immigration reform bill.

Story continues below

———————————————

———————————————

Despite that challenge from the president, his actions and the angry Republican response could largely stamp out prospects for Congress passing comprehensive immigration legislation under the current administration, ensuring that the contentious debate will carry on into the 2016 presidential campaign

While Obama's measures are sweeping in scope, they still leave more than half of the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally in limbo. The president announced new deportation priorities that would compel law enforcement to focus its efforts on tracking down serious criminals and people who have recently crossed the border, while specifically placing a low priority on those who have been in the U.S. for more than 10 years.

Details from the White House fact sheet

The White House said there are three critical elements to the president's plan:

  • Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration at the Border:  The President’s actions increase the chances that anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be caught and sent back.  Continuing the surge of resources that effectively reduced the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally this summer, the President’s actions will also centralize border security command-and-control to continue to crack down on illegal immigration.
  • Deporting Felons, Not Families: The President’s actions focus on the deportation of people who threaten national security and public safety. He has directed immigration enforcement to place anyone suspected of terrorism, violent criminals, gang members, and recent border crossers at the top of the deportation priority list.
  • Accountability – Criminal Background Checks and Taxes:  The President is also acting to hold accountable those undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for more than five years and are parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents.  By registering and passing criminal and national security background checks, millions of undocumented immigrants will start paying their fair share of taxes and temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation for three years at a time.

Sen. Marco Rubio's response

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s executive orders on immigration:

“We need immigration reform. But the right way to do it is to first bring illegal immigration under control by securing the borders and enforcing the laws, then modernizing our legal immigration system. After we do these things, we will eventually have to deal with those here illegally in a reasonable but responsible way. The President’s actions now make all of this harder and are unfair to people in our immigration system who are doing things the right way.”

Sen. Bill Nelson's response

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) issued this statement:

"We passed a comprehensive and bipartisan immigration bill by an overwhelming margin last year in the Senate.  But you just can't get some of the reactionaries in the House of Representatives to move.  So I think the president should have done this.  He certainly has the legal authority.  The bottom line is this: we need to act fairly toward our people and also to help keep the economy moving."

Hillary Clinton's response

Hillary Clinton, a possible frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president, has been largely silent on the issue. She tweeted this statement Thursday night:

Thanks to POTUS for taking action on immigration in the face of inaction. Now let’s turn to permanent bipartisan reform. #ImmigrationAction