To hash this out. Im told behind closed doors the president made the calculation republican also attack him if he waits a month. Lets do it now. Go on offense and define the terms of this debate. He will try to justify this move tonight by saying republicans failed to act on the last four years. What he will not mention tonight is democrats failed to act when they had control of the house, senate, and white house in 2009, 2010. And by the way, even before this speech has been given, two senate democrats, not one but two donley of indiana and manchin of West Virginia come out and said its a mistake and end run around congress. Bill . The president ial will go it las vegas tomorrow. Thats where he will sign the executive action, i understand. You will be with him, correct . No. Im going to stay here and anchoring special report, filling in for bret baier, i think the bottom line is he is going do that because is he going to sell it they know its a tough policy so here is he. Here is the president. Tonight i would like to talk to you about immigration. For more than 200 years our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. Its kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities. People not trapped by our past but able to remake ourselves as we choose. But today our immigration system is broken. And Everybody Knows it. Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others throughout flout rules. See the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reasons the rewards of living in america without taking on the responsibilities of living in america. Undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows. Risk their families being torn apart. Its been this way for decades. And for decades we havent done much about it. When i took office, i committed to fixing this broken immigration system. And i began by doing what i could to secure our borders. Today we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. And over the past six years illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half this summer there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is actually now lower than its been in nearly two years. Overall, the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is add its lowest level since the 1970s. Those are the facts. Meanwhile, i worked with congress on a comprehensive fix. And last year 68 democrats, republicans, and independents came together to pass a bipartisan bill in the senate. It wasnt perfect. It was a compromise. But it reflected common sense. It would have doubled the number of Border Patrol agents while giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they paid a fine, started paying their taxes, and went to the back of the line. Independent experts said it would help grow our economy and shrink our deficits. Had the house of representatives allowed that kind of bill, a simple yes or no vote, it would have passed with support from both parties. And today it would be the law. But for a year and a half now, Republican Leaders in the house have refused to allow that simple vote. Now, i continue to believe that the best way to solve this problem is by working together to pass that kind of common sense law. But until that happens, there are actions i have the Legal Authority to take as president , the same kinds of actions taken by democratic and republican president s before me, that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just. Tonight, im announcing those actions. First, well build on our progress at the border with Additional Resources for our Law Enforcement personnel. So that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings and speed the return of those who do cross over. Second, i will make it easier and faster for high skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy. So many Business Leaders had proposed. Third, well take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country. I want to say more about this third issue because it generates the most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws. And i believe that they must be held accountable. Especially those who may be dangerous past six years betore stations of criminals are up 80 . And thats why we are going it keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom who is working hard to provide for her kids. We will prioritize just like Law Enforcement does every day. But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is millions of immigrants in every state, of every race, and nationality, still live here illegally. And lets be honest. Tracking down, rounding up and deporting millions of people isnt realistically. Isnt being straight with you. Its also not who we are as americans. After all most of these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard and often low paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are american born or spent most of their lives here. And their hopes, dreams and patriotism are just like ours. As my predecessor president bush once put it, they are a part of american life. Now, heres the thing. We expect people who live in this country to play by the rules. We expect that those who cut the line will not be unfairly we warded. So we are going to offer the following deal. If you have been in america for more than five years, if you have children who are american citizens or legal residents, if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you are willing to pay your fair share of taxes, you will be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. Thats what this deal is. Now, lets be clear about what it isnt. This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to america illegally in the future it does not grant citizenship or the right to stay here permanently or offer the same benefits that citizens receive . Only congress can do that. All we are saying is that we are not going to deport you. I know some of the critics of this action call it amnesty. Well, its not. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today. Millions of people who live here, without paying their tax its or playing by the rules while politicians use the scare people and whip up votes at election time. Thats the real amnesty. Leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both common sense middle ground approach. If you meet the criteria. Can you come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you are a criminal, you will be deported. If you plan to enter the u. S. Illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up. The actions im taking are not only lawful, kinds of actions taken by every single republican president and every single democratic president for the past half century. And to those members of congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better or question acting while congress has failed i have an answer, pass a bill. I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative the day i sign that bill into law, the actions i take will no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, dont let a disagreement over a single issue be a deal breaker on every herb. Thats nau not how our democracy works and Congress Certainly shouldnt shut down our government again just because we disagree on this americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs from us right now is common purpose, a higher purpose. Most americans support the types of restorms i have talked about tonight. But i understand the disagreements held by many of you at home. Millions of us, myself included, go back generations in this country with ancestors who put in the painstaking work to become citizens. So we dont like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to american citizenship. I know some worry immigration will change the very fabric of who we are or take our jobs or stick it to middle class families at a time when they already feel like they have gotten the raw deal for over a decade i hear those citizens. Thats not what these steps would do. Our history and the facts show that immigrants are a net plus for our economy and our society. And i believe its important that all of us have this debate without impugning each others character. Because for all the back and forth of washington, we have to remember that this debate is about something bigger. Its about who we are as a country. And who we want to be for future generations. Are we a nation that toler rates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law . Or are we nation that gives themselves a chance to make amends. Take responsibility and give their kids a Better Future . Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents arms or are we a nation that values families . And works together to keep them together are we an education best and brightest only to send them home to countries that compete against us or a nation that encourages them to stay and create jobs here. Create businesses here. Create industries right here in america . Thats what this debate is all about. We need more than politics as usual when it comes to immigration. We need reasoned, thoughtful, compassionate debate that focuses on our hopes and our fears. I know the politics of this are tough. But let me tell you why i have come to feel so strongly about it. For the past years i have seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked two or three jobs without taking a dime from the government and at risk any moment losing it all just to build a better life for her kids. I have seen the heart break and anxiety children whose mothers might be taken away from them just because they didnt have the right papers. I have seen the courage of students who, except circumstances of their birth are as american asthma leah or sasha. Students who bravely come out as undocumented in hopes of making a difference in the country they love. These people, our neighbors, our classmates, our friends, they did not come here in search of a free ride or an easy ride. They came to work and study and serve in our military. And above all contribute to americas success. Now tomorrow i will travel to las vegas and meet with some of these students, including a number woman name astra. She was brought to america when she was 4 years old. Only possessions were a cross, her dog, and the frilly dress she had on. When she started school she didnt speak any english. She caught up to other kids by reading newspapers and watching pbs. And she became a good student. Her father worked this landscaping, her mom cleaned other peoples homes. They wouldnt let her apply to Technology Magnet school not because they didnt love her but because they were afraid the paperwork would out her as undocumented immigrant. So she applied behind their back and got in. Still, she mostly lived in the shadows until her grandmother who visited every year from mexico passed away and she couldnt travel to the funeral without risk of being found out and deported. It was around that time she decided to begin sad voyeur indicating for herself and others like her and today she is a College Student working on her third degree. Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like astra or are thee a nation that finds a way to welcome her in . Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress for we know the heart of a stranger. We were strangers once, too. My fellow americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And whether our forebear errors were strangers who crossed the atlantic or the pacific or the rio grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in and taught them that to be an american is about something more than what we look like or what our last names are or how we worship. What makes us americans is our shared commitment to an ideal that all of us are created equal and that all of us have a chance to make of our lives what we will. Thats the country our parents and grandparents and generations before them build for us. Thats the tradition we must uphold. These the legacy that we must leave for those to come. Thank you, god bless you, and god bless this country we love president obama speaking for about 15 minutes. Joining us now from washington with reaction charles krauthammer. So, putting the constitutional deal aside for now, what is the damage to the country the president signing that order tomorrow . I think on policy, it is very clear that he is making an announcement to all of the people around the world wight to enter the u. S. Legally that they are churches and that if you want to get in this country, you want to stay in this country, the way to do it is to come across here illegally and ultimately you will be legalized. I find the president s audacity here rather remarkable. He tells us at the end in that little or ation i have to say why i feel so strongly about this issue. So strongly, in fact, that he invokes scripture to support his executive order. If he felt so strongly about the issue, why did he delay announcing this until after he got the past the election, because he knew that had he announced it earlier and after all, its supposed to be so urgent it would have damaged the democrats chances in the election. Why did he not do this before the 2012 election . Because he didnt want to jeopardize his own reelection. But most important, if he feels so strongly about this and scripture dictates that this ought to be be done, why did he do nothing about this in 2009 and 2010 when he had control of the white house, the house, and the senate and he could well to have done this constitutionally by passing legislation. He wants the issue and he wants to use it and thats what he has got about. Anyone listening to you tonight, and what you just said, will then take away that the president is a complete phony, that he is doing this for venal reasons, not compassionate reasons, and that if you put that together, he is a bad person is that what you mean to say . What im saying is he a very skilled politician who has used the skill six years the way many politician does, but it becomes somewhat offensive when he pretends its for for such high principle. The facts i brought up are the ones that show. When he had the opportunity to do this it he didnt do it. All of that is factual. You dont think he is a principled man though, you think he is doing this for political reasons . Look, whatever the motives are, the fact is that you can have huron debates about the substance of a policy. I have been writing for 10 years that i would support legalization of 11 million Illegal Immigrants for some the reasons that the president had had spoken of because we are a a generous, a great nation and we dont want to see People Living in the shadows. But only only if a country should be assured that this will be the last cohort. The last is 11 million who will come in illegally and if thats the case, i think there will be a consensus in the country, shut the border, reduce the river of illegal immigration to a trickle and the country will rally around legalization. Not if they think that this is, as this executive order actually is, an invitation for anybody who come across the border and to know that ultimately they will be legalized the president seems to have convinced himself that the border is secure. Citing the statistics on the depoor deportations amount of people crossing they are as low as they have been in 40 years. On and on and on. He has convinced himself hey we dont have a problem down there. And you say . He convinces himself of a lot of things. These this is a lot of them. Deportation numbers are completely distorted. Up until obama, the deportations that were counted were those from within the country. They changed the recording system, and anybody who today comes across and is returned immediately, who in the past was not counted is now counted among the departed so the numbers are inflated. And we all know why there is a decline in the river of illegal immigration over the last several years. It was because of the recession. The jobs werent available. And we all know that as the economy recovers, were going to have the crises that we had this summer over and over again. And not just with children, but they will be a lot of people who will come across thinking as the president said they are going to be out of the shadow. Word is going to get out. Charles, thank you as always. On the rundown ed henry will rejoin us. Up ahead Laura Ingraham. Up ahead Laura Ingraham. Well be right esurwhich means fewer costs, which saves money. Their Customer Experience is virtually paperless, which saves paper, which saves money. They have smart online tools, so you only pay for whats right for you, which saves money. They settle claims quickly, which saves time, which saves money. They drive an allhybrid claims fleet, which saves gas, which saves money. They were born online, and built to save money, which means when they save, you save. Because thats how it should work in the modern world. Esurance. Backed by allstate. Click or call. Were for an opens you internet for all. Sing. Were for creating more innovation and competition. Were for Net Neutrality protection. Now, heres some news you may find even more surprising. Were comcast. The only isp legally bound by full Net Neutrality rules. Continuing now with the coverage of the speech White House Correspondent ed henry. So, the president seems to be depending on the American Public to rally around the compassion issue. The compassion issue. Right. Is he one of the most secular president s, perhaps the most secular president we have ever had, yet, he invokes scripture in the speech. How did you hear that . I heard that as political salesmanship,