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                     Obama to Announce Immigration Reforms

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama will discuss his plans to protect undocumented
   immigrants in the United States from deportation during a nationally
   televised address Thursday night.

   The president will [1]address the nation from the White House on
   Thursday at 8 p.m. EST (0100 UTC Friday).

   News outlets said an executive order Obama plans to sign will allow as
   many as 5 million undocumented immigrants to obtain work permits,
   including those with children born in the country and spouses of U.S.
   citizens.

   Marshall Fitz, director of immigration policy at the Center for
   American Progress, told Reuters that family-centered policies have long
   been deemed palatable to American voters.

   "The idea of a kid growing up without his parent is hard to swallow.
   We've had a history in this country of adopting policies that are
   pro-family unification," Fitz said, adding he thought policies should
   focus not just on family connections but also on rootedness, or ties to
   the community.

   Obama is also expected to expand an executive order he signed in 2012,
   known as the Dream Act, that protects young immigrants who came to the
   United States as children from deportation by lifting the age
   restrictions on people who qualify. The parents of these children,
   however, would not be eligible for delayed deportation.

   Undocumented immigrants eligible for these protections would not be
   entitled to receive federal benefits, including subsidies to obtain
   health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

   Obama will sign the order Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada, which has a
   large Hispanic population.

   Immigration lawyers warn of troubles

   On Thursday, as details of the possible action circulated, immigration
   lawyers warned that Obama's televised address may prove the easiest
   part of his controversial plan. Implementing it will be difficult and
   many people may never benefit, some lawyers said.

   Up to 5 million people could benefit from Obama's plan relax U.S.
   immigration policy.

   But immigration advocacy groups said they don't have sufficient
   resources to provide legal services to their existing clients, never
   mind the millions of potential new ones.

   Obama's proposal is not expected to provide for federal funding for
   attorneys to guide immigrants through the process.

   Karla McKanders, who runs the immigration law clinic at the University
   of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, told Reuters, "If the past is
   any indication, it's going to be a significant increase in people
   asking for legal assistance."

   Also, immigrants who have lived illegally in the United States for many
   years can be afraid to sign up or lack the proper documentation to back
   up their claims, said Jacqueline Rishty from the Immigration Legal
   Services Program of Catholic Charities in Washington.

   The lack of immigration lawyers also opens the door for  self-described
   legal experts who give bad advice or even scam clients out of thousands
   of dollars. The American Bar Association has warned of fraudsters
   offering legal services in Spanish-speaking communities.

   Republicans denounce plans

   Republican lawmakers have angrily denounced the president's planned
   executive order, accusing him of overstepping his authority.

   House Speaker John Boehner said Obama "will cement his legacy of
   lawlessness" and potentially ruin any hopes of working with Congress on
   the issue.

   Many Republicans said Obama and the Democrats want to grant amnesty to
   lawbreakers, and are calling for tougher security along the
   U.S.-Mexican border.

   But White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday the
   country has been waiting for more than a year for the
   Republican-controlled House to vote on a bipartisan immigration reform
   bill approved by the Democratic-led Senate.

   Earnest also said nearly every president from both parties, dating back
   to Dwight Eisenhower, has taken executive action to tackle problems
   with immigration.

   Some material for this report came from Reuters.

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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-to-announce-immigration-reforms
   /2527558.html

References

   1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-to-announce-immigration-reforms/2527558.html