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Nearly five million people who are currently living illegally in the US will be able to escape deportation under sweeping changes to the US system announced by President Obama.
Speaking in a primetime TV address from the White House, Mr. Obama also pledged to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, and require some undocumented migrants to pass a criminal background check.
Our Washington correspondent Lorna Shaddick reports.
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The sweeping actions from the President have three main priorities - boosting border security, focusing deportation resources on criminals rather than families, and giving several million people the option of applying for deferred action status.
That will given them three years of protection from deportation, along with the authorisation to work legally in the US - something the President said is an important step:
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But there'll be no 'path to citizenship' or access to Health Insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and while the moves DO apply to the parents of US citizens and legal permanent residents, they DON'T include a way for people brought to the US as children to gain legal status.
Mr. Obama also emphasised that his administration will be boosting efforts to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, something many Republicans have been calling for for a long time:
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But nonetheless, Mr. Obama's Republican opponents are already preparing ways to fight back against this move - in the courts and in Congress. They say the president is overstepping his authority - here's House Speaker John Boehner:
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Options the Republicans may consider include cutting off funding to the Department of Homeland Security, shutting down the government or even starting impeachment proceedings against the president.
Mitch McConnell, about to become Majority leader in the Senate, says the current action isn't fair on those who DO use the system correctly:
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But overall, this move reflects a president well into his second term and fed up with Congressional dysfunction. With the midterm elections behind him, President Obama doesn't have to worry about the immediate political fallout for his Democratic party - he and his aides have clearly concluded there's no reason to hold off on any action.
With as many as 11 million undocumented immigrants now in the US, Mr. Obama's move will touch more people than any executive action on immigration in history.
Lorna Shaddick, Washington.