President Barack Obama will take action on immigration reform as early as next week, Fox News reported on Wednesday. The decision, which Fox said may be announced as soon as Nov. 21, could prevent millions of deportations under a policy known as "deferred action."
Obama's plan would apply to both undocumented immigrants who came the U.S. as children and the undocumented parents of current U.S. citizens and residents.
The New York Times confirmed the report on Thursday. Administration sources told the Times that many undocumented immigrants would be able to receive work permits under the new reforms.
The president had been set to take action months ago, but delayed the move until after the midterm elections. The day after the elections, Obama told reporters that he planned to make an announcement by the end of the year.
"What we can't do is just keep on waiting," he said. "There's a cost for waiting."
Democrats have urged the president in recent weeks to announce his plan soon. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said that any hopes for immigration legislation would be crushed if Obama acted unilaterally.
The most recent Census data suggested that there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
UPDATE: 10:10 p.m. -- A senior administration official told The Huffington Post that the president had yet to decide on immigration action and had not yet received recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security.
Ryan Grim contributed reporting.
Before You Go
