Obama: My Immigration Exec Orders Protected by ‘Prosecutorial Discretion’

"With respect to immigration reform, I can’t comment on the ins and outs of the legal case.  I’ve said before and I’ll say again, I am confident that the rules and executive action that I put forward are squarely within the category of prosecutorial discretion that historically has been under a President’s power. And you’ve got lower courts who’ve disagreed, but we think that past precedent is on our side. 

Substantively, I’ve got 11 million people in our countries, many of whom are working, paying taxes, our neighbors, coworkers, friends who’ve lived in the United States for a very long time.  We’re not going to deport them, despite what some political leaders may say.  It would be contrary to who we are, would be too costly, is too impractical.  What we want to do is allow them to get out of the shadows and to get right with the law, pay a fine, go to the back of the line, but hopefully, over time, be contributors to society.

Of course, none of this would be necessary if we just passed the legislation that was passed in the Senate with a bipartisan majority.  And I continue to believe that the ultimate solution is going to be one that comes from Congress.  And although, during this political season, it may be difficult for Republican leaders in either the House or in the Senate to resuscitate that legislation, my hope is, is that after the election, they will.  And in the interim, I’m going to do everything I can to sensibly apply our immigration laws in a way that is reflective of the fact that we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."