Obama To Announce Immigration Executive Action

[Hyderabad_Nawab]

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama will unveil his long-awaited immigration plan Thursday evening, changing rules governing deportations that could affect millions of undocumented immigrants and setting off an explosive battle with Republicans.

 

Obama's prime-time address will be followed Friday by an event in Las Vegas, sources tell CNN. While exact details of his announcement aren't yet public, the basic outline of the plan, as relayed by people familiar with its planning, includes deferring deportation for the parents of U.S. citizens, a move that would affect up to 3.5 million people.

 

Immigration Statistics Fast Facts

Legal Immigration Statistics:
2013 - 990,553 people are granted lawful permanent residence in the United States. Approximately 40% of these "green card" recipients, or LPRs, were born in Asia, while about 32% were born in North America. The top countries of origin are:

-- Mexico (14%)

-- China (7.2%)

-- India (6.9%)

-- Philippines (5.5%)

-- Dominican Republic (4.2%)

2013 - The top U.S states where legal permanent residents settle are:

-- California (19.4%)

-- New York (13.5%)

-- Florida (10.4%)

-- Texas (9.4%)

-- New Jersey (5.4%)

New legal permanent residents of the United States are younger on average than native born residents, more likely to be female and more likely to be married.

The largest spike in lawful immigration took place from 1989 to 1991, when approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants were legalized under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act.

2013 - A total of 779,929 people become naturalized U.S. citizens. The top countries of birth are:

-- Mexico (12.7%)

-- India (6.4%)

-- Philippines (5.6%)

-- Dominican Republic (5.1%)

-- China (3.9%)

Residents becoming naturalized citizens in 2013 had spent a median of seven years in LPR status. Immigrants from Africa has the shortest median wait time, five years, while those from North America had the longest wait time, 10 years.