What to Expect From Obama’s Immigration Speech
Obama will announce that he is providing relief to various groups of undocumented immigrants through executive action. The exact details are unknown, but he’s expected to offer temporary protected status to the parents and spouses of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. They must have no criminal record and have lived in the U.S. for a certain number of years (probably five). It’s estimated that there are about 3.71 million people in this group, according to the Washington Post.
About a million additional people would be affected by other changes, including an expansion of the 2012 program that allowed “Dreamers,” or undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, to avoid deportation. Obama will probably increase the maximum current age from 30, and the maximum arrival age from 16, but the precise age limits are unknown.
Obama is also likely to announce some other shifts in immigration policy, including increasing visas for high-tech workers, reforming federal immigrant detention procedures, and measures to improve border security.
More: What to Expect From Obama’s Immigration Speech — NYMag