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Watch: President Obama Unveils Executive Action on Immigration

Pete Souza
/
White House
President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on November 1, 2014.

President Barack Obama is pushing the limits of his authority to shield from deportation millions of immigrants illegally in the United States, but the fate of millions more will still be left unresolved. 

Obama is set to announce Thursday that he is sidestepping Congress with his own action on immigration. Watch live below tonight starting at 8:00 pm.

Obama's measures could make as many as five million people eligible for work permits. The broadest action would likely extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, as long as those parents have been in the country for five years.

Republicans in Congress have warned Obama against acting alone on immigration, saying unilateral action means comprehensive immigration reform is less likely to pass in Congress. 

In a video released on Facebook, Obama said he will make the announcementfrom the White House and then go to Las Vegas to promote the plan on Friday. 

Obama plans to spell out things he can do as president "to make the system better," and said that he'll work with Congress toward as "bipartisan, comprehensive bill that can solve the entire problem." He said everyone agrees that the immigration system is broken, but that Washington has let the problem "fester for too long." 

With more than eleven million immigrants illegally living in the United States, Obama's actions would still leave millions unprotected, even though their chances of getting deported if they have not committed a crime are quite low.

This report includes information from The Associated Press.

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