Digging Deeper Into Executive Action: A Further Examination of the Impacts

With President Obama’s November 20 announcement of executive action on immigration, as many as 5.2 million unauthorized immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents or who were brought to the United States as children are potentially eligible for relief from deportation and work authorization under new and expanded deferred action programs. While public attention has focused on deferred action, the president also announced a number of additional reforms that touch on other facets of the U.S. immigration system. Join MPI analysts for a discussion of the impact of less-noted aspects of the president’s plan, including in the areas of immigration enforcement (new border enforcement measures, changes to enforcement priorities, and the termination of the Secure Communities program), changes to the legal immigration system (an increase in the number of STEM graduates who can remain in the United States after graduation, a new entry system for immigrant entrepreneurs, and streamlined processes for foreign workers and their employers), and efforts to promote immigrant integration by creating a White House Task Force on New Americans.