Defying GOP, Obama to Overhaul Immigration

President Obama is making good on his promise to skirt Congress and put in place new rules that would protect millions of undocumented immigrants now in the country from deportation, reports the New York Times and Fox News. Obama is expected to unveil his plans for executive action next week. Both stories say one big change involves parents of kids who are US citizens or legal residents—they'll be allowed to get legal work documents and remain in the country. The Times says that change alone could affect 3.3 million people, accounting for most of the estimated 5 million who would gain protection.

Obama also is expected to extend protections to immigrants who came here illegally as kids and give more people with high-tech skills a path to citizenship. Several other initiatives range from improving border security to increasing the pay of immigration officers. Republicans already are gearing for a fight. "I told the president last week directly: If you proceed with executive amnesty, not only can you forget about getting immigration reform enacted during your presidency, you can also expect it to jeopardize other issues as well," John Boehner told his GOP colleagues today, reports the Washington Post. "We don’t know when exactly he’ll do it or how exactly he’ll do it. But if he proceeds, we are going to fight it." (More immigration stories.)