Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama will announce a major executive action on immigration reform in prime time on Thursday, the White House said on Wednesday.
“Our immigration system has been broken for decades — and every minute we fail to act, millions of people who live in the shadows but want to play by the rules and pay taxes have no way to live right by the law and contribute to our country,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest wrote on the White House website.
“So tomorrow night, President Obama will address the nation to lay out the executive actions he’s taking to fix our broken immigration system,” Earnest continued.
The president will then travel to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas on Friday “to discuss why he is using his executive authority now, and why Republicans in Congress must act to pass a long-term solution to immigration reform,” according to Earnest.
Obama has invited senior lawmakers to the White House Wednesday night for dinner to explain his immigration decision, according to sources familiar with the dinner. It is unclear whether it will be only Democrats or whether Republicans will be included. House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman says Boehner was not invited.
The most controversial aspect of Obama’s planned action is likely to be an order to, on a temporary basis, exempt from deportation and grant work permits to as many as five million undocumented immigrants.
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is being dispatched to Capitol Hill on Thursday for lunch with Senate Democrats, a move that presaged the announcement.
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