Obama Announces New Immigration Steps

(AP) - The steps being announced tonight by President Barack Obama on immigration could mark the start of one of the fiercest partisan confrontations of his presidency.

His measures could make as many as 5 million people eligible for work permits, shielding them from deportation.

But none would have a path to citizenship, and the actions could be reversed by a new president after Obama leaves office.

Republicans are vehemently opposed to the president's likely actions, which include stopping the deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally if they're the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and they've been in the country for at least five years.

"What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal—that all of us are created equal." —President Obama #ImmigrationAction

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 21, 2014

"My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too." —President Obama #ImmigrationAction

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 21, 2014