Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama plans to issue a reprieve for undocumented immigrants whose children were born in the United States, part of an order that would shield between 4 million and 5 million from deportation, according to people familiar with the proposal.
 
Obama's pending executive action, which could be announced as early as tomorrow, would expand eligibility for his 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that has given protection to 600,000 child immigrants.
 
The plan, which the White House says is a partial fix for the immigration system, may improve Obama's standing with Hispanics after he presided over a record number of deportations and damage his chances of working with Republicans in Congress on other policy matters.
 
The idea behind his strategy is to cover categories of immigrants that would be politically difficult for Republicans to successfully oppose since that would involve separating parents from their children, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the matter.
 
By centering his plan on family unification, Obama is seeking to drive a wedge in the Republican Party, which includes members who support what the president is doing even if they oppose his use of presidential powers to achieve it.
 
Tech workers

Obama also will expand a program that gives work permits for up to 29 months to foreign graduates of U.S. universities with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, according to the people, who requested anonymity before a formal announcement. That provides more workers to fill high-tech jobs.

The administration already broadened eligibility for the program in 2012 by increasing the qualifying fields of study.

The executive action will include enforcement measures and changes to legal-immigration procedures, the people said.

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