IT’S HAPPENING

Obama Signs Immigration Executive Action

And calls on Congress to pass a bill.

On Friday, President Obama signed the executive action that will extend temporary legal status to more than 4 million undocumented immigrants and give them a chance to apply for work permits. While in Las Vegas, the president gave a speech to kick off a campaign to sell the new immigration plan to the American public. “We’re going to keep on working with members of Congress to make permanent reform a reality,” Obama said. “But until that day comes, there are actions that I have the legal authority to take that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just, and this morning I began to take some of those actions.” The president called out House Republicans for failing to act and said that GOP leaders have not allowed a simple yes or no vote. “If they had allowed a vote on that kind of bill, it would have passed,” Obama said. “I would have signed it. It would be the law right now.”