But in a formal settling eing, it was really weird and the president got really mad. He was a credentialed member of the press. Not during that question and answer period, but while the president was still trying to make his statement. And, you know, this president , like every president , has been heckled before. We have seen him heckled a lot by immigration activists. We have seen him quietly heckled by a coop servetive justice for the supreme court. But an accredited member of the press, stopping a president shl announcement. That was just weird. It was not weird like the iraqi guys throwing the shoe at president bush. That guy was a member of the press corps, too. That guy went to jail for three years for doing that. But still, that moment in the rose garden, it was an astonishing moment. The publication that that guy worked for put out a statement saying they were very proud of their reporter for his behavior during that president ial rose garden address. And that guy still works there. That was about five months before the 2012 election. And what the president announced was for that specific group of people who could be deported, he was going to offer them temporary relief. People who were brought to this country as kids who had no say in 2 matter. He didnt give them legal, perm nant residency and green cards. But he did give them temporary relief from one thing. From the threat of being deported. And the republicans lostz their minds. They gave into the president and the policy went into effect. You may remember this is the scene all over the country when they could make themselves known, find out if they qualified. That was 2 1 2 years ago. And, so far, dween 500 and 600,000 young people across the country have qualified under that program to get temporary relief from the threat of being deported. And the sky did not fall. The economy did not collapse. The president announced that change two years ago. They couldnt even wait until he had physically stopped announcing it before they started screaming at it. But you know what, that policy change has kind of worked out okay. The country is okay. And tonights announcement from the white house builds on both that policy that he announced in 2012, it essentially expanlds the idea of temporary relief from deportation to include families, right . Who have a legal resident or a u. S. Citizen. So families do not get physically divided by force. Were going to offer the following deal. If youve been in america for more than five years, if you have children who are american citizens, if you register, pass a legal background check and are willing to pay your fair share of taxes, youll be able to apply to stay 234 this country without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. What president obama announced tonight just from the east room. Substantively, what he announced tonight, it builds on that idea that president obama announced yun lat rally in 2012 in the rose garden. It builds on what they call doca. But it also builds on a long track record from this president. Frankly, a long list of warning signs that he was going to do Something Like he did tonight. And i dont know whether or not consistency is a virtue. But in this case, on this issue, president barack obama has been really con sis at the present time on this issue. In 2 07, when he was the United States senator, the Bush Administration wrote a big comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. And even though it had been written by the Bush Administration, republicans in Congress Still did not support it. Barack obama ran for it as a senator. He campaigned for his support in the dream act which, again, would be a very specific form of Immigration Reform targeted at young people who had made promising investments in themselves. He campaigned on the dream act when he ran for president. When he got e lengted president , he supported the dream act. Democrats in the house swro deuced the dream act. They got it passed in the house in the first half of his first term. Democrats in the senate, most of them supported it as well. So they tried on the dream act, buff they couldnt get it done. Then when he was e he was running for reelection, he made that doca announcement where the tucker guy screamed at him. And then president obama won that election. Democrats picked up the receipt. Even the diagnosis in 2012 was part of the reason why they lost so badly. After that 2012 election with the republican parties official autopsy of what went wrong, recommending e iningexplicitly x news getting religion after that election. Weve got to get rid of the immigration issue all together. Its simple for me to fix it. You control the border first, you create a path way for those people that are here. You dont say youve got to go home. And that is a position that ive evolved on. He evolve ved. He has since e unevolved. Right aft the 2012 election, the Republican Party, fox news, House Speaker john boehner were all saying he would finally come around and support Immigration Reform. This is what happened e what happened. Right 56 he was sworn in for his second term. He was so happy, he was just vie brating three feet off the ground. Democrats did great in the election all the way down the ticket, all the way around the country. Nevada had voted for him by a mile. Hes at this high school with the kids and the crowd and all psyched. Hes really believing it. Everybody did. Those of you who have a seat, feel free to take a seat. I dont mind. I love you, barack. I love you back. [ cheers and applause ] last week, last week i had the honor of being sworn in for a second term as president of the United States. I know that some issues will be harder to lift than others. Some debates will be more contentious. Thats to be expected. But the reason i came here today is because of a challenge where the differences are dwindling. Where a broad consensus is emerging. And where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across america. Im here today because the time has come for common sense, comprehensive Immigration Reform. Now is the time. Now is the time. You can hear the crowd getting louder. They gave him a standing ovation. But that case that hes making is a remarkable moment in time. He says the differences are dwindling. A broad consensus is emerging. In other words, the republicans have finally agreed to do it, you guys. This is right after the 2012 election. And everybody said Immigration Reform would happen. Even fox news thought Immigration Reform would happen. And it started to happen. Within six months of that speech, the senate had passed a bill, a big, bipartisan, tough, comprehensive bill with enough votes to beat the republican filibuster. They got 14 republican senators to sign onto that thing. So thats step one. 14 republican senators agree with this. And thats enough to pass it even over the fill bester. Okay, done. Now its time for the house. Go on, house. You take it from here, house. John boehner had said that the house would pass Immigration Reforment but they got that bipartisan bill and then it just, you know, it never came up. For a while, it saturday there with no explanation. And then finally, the House Republicans came up with a procedural yex. They wanted to pass a bill piece meal. They wanted to pass each individual piece of it bitbybit. And the democrats responded and the president responded okay, whatever you want. However you want to do it. Well do it that way if thats the way you need to do it. Theyre suspicious of comprehensive bilges. But you know what, if they want to chop that thing up into five pieces, as long as all five pieces get done, i dont care what it looks like, as long as its actually delivering on those core values that we talk ablg e about. You need to talk it up . Jaw wired shut . Can only chew tiny things . Okay, piecemeal is a weird way to do it. But if thats what you need to do, well do it. They said thats what they needed to be able to do it. That, aparentally, wasnt what they kneaded. They still just never did it. And, as much as everybody thought they were going to, as much as they said they were going to, as much as they promised they were going to, as much as they said it would be in their own interest to do so and of course they would do it, they never did it. And thats what happened. And that was more than 500 days ago. And so tonight, the president , like he did in 2012, the president announced that he would act on his own. He cant change the law. But he can change the enforcement priorities and the Homeland Security department and all the rest of it. And now congress will not vote on these things that the president announced tonight. Those changes will go into effect starting january 1st, 2015. And the republicans and the president s critics say they feel blind sided, but its not like he didnt testimony you over and over and over again that this was coming. Comprehensive Immigration Reform once and for all. They need we cant wait 20 years from now to do it. We cant wait 10 yores from now to do it. We need to do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of america. We want to move this process. We cant continue with a broken immigration system. The time has come for common sense, comprehensive Immigration Reform. The time has come. Today, im beginning a new effort. Ive said before that if congress failed to live up to its responsibilities to solve this problem, i would act to fix as much as i can on my own and i meant what i said. So this is not a question of if, but when. See the time stamps on all of those . Wl you like what president obama anoun announced tonight or not, its not like you didnt know it was coming. We will be talking more about that this hour including with some of our republican frans. Friends. But what the president did tonight was something he said he would do for a long time. Theres no question and its going to be fascinating to watch between the democrat and republicans. This is absolutely a riveting part. A big president ial announcement like this. Congress saying no, were going to light our hair on fire. Well never let you do it. Its an amazing thing to watch. Fighting like this in politics are really, really topoftheticket fights. But that is not what this story is about. This is not at all what it was about at its most important level. This is what its really about. What the president announced tonight will have practical, everyday effects. This announcement will have an immediate effect on peoples lives and their families now and for generations to come. 5 million families just had their tra jekt ri in life changed dramatically. Joining us now is the host of the rundown on msnbc and a news anchor on telemu ndo. Five Million People, rachel. Five million families. Five Million People. Tonight is the opportunity of coming out from under the shadows of fear. Jose diazbalart. They are going to have u. S. Born children or residents. Imagine what that means for 5 Million People. That, for years, have seen their children go to school and they fear maybe not being there when their children come home from school. Imagine going to work not knowing if you recall going to come back from work because you dont have the documents to do that work that many times other americans dont want to do. Talk about the American Dream, rachel . This is 5 Million People. I was with the president in las vegas, which, by the way, rachel, the president is going back to tomorrow to that same school. And then on the day after that, on the 30th of january, 2013, i interviewed the president. And i asked him about l arkszat. A mother at that speech. And she told me i wish i could have told him this. I have u. S. Born children. And i was deported from the United States. I left my children here. And one of them was molested. So i have come back knowing that my fate has probably sealed, but a moethers responsibility is fr stronger than laws when my children were born here. Ask the president if he can do for me what he did for the dreamers. I kept thinking about latisia, tonight, rachel. But, rachel, thank you for bringing it up. It all boils down to human beings. And what are we as a country . Do we not care about human beings . These are children born in the United States. Families separated. And that is going to change for 5 Million People in short ordered. When we see president s change the way the law is enforced, in the past, thats happened two times. In the administrations of george h. W. Bush and reagan. They were about keeping families together. They acknowledged that the legal enforcement were tearing people apart. Shouldnt this be seen as inline with those previous examples . Yes, but to be clear, rachel, they actually went towards amnesty. This is something that the president said isnt possible and he doesnt think his executive orders will be able to go towards anything that can be considered. But the fact is, this is a very limited program. Sure, its 5 Million People. But its about 41 of the undocumented population of the United States, which is about the same percentage, i should say, that was affected by the decisions of both bush and reagan, 41 . Different numbers in totality. But the same percentage. Look, the fact is, the fact e folks that work behind me right there, and you said it very clearly, had the opportunity to do something about it, well, maybe theyll look and see that maybe now is a time to deal with issues. Its not going to go away just because you dont want to deal with it. Thats right. And if they want to change something, its because they have to act on their own terms. Jose, host of the rundown here on mrksz snbc every morning, jose, big night. Thanks for mick e making time for us here. Weve got much more ahead on this historic night. Please, do stay with us. In the country. We operate just like a city, and that takes a lot of energy. We use natural gas throughout the airport for heating the entire terminal, generating electricity onsite, and fueling hundreds of vehicles. Were very focused on reducing our environmental impact. And natural gas is a big part of that commitment. I lost my sight in afghanistan, but it doesnt hold me back. I go through periods where its hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. Non24 is a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 of people who are totally blind. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms and learn more by calling 8448442424. Or visit my24info. Com. Dad hes our broker. He helps looks after all our money. Kid do you pay him . Dad of course. Kid how much . Dad i dont know exactly. Kid what if youre not happy . Does he have to pay you back . Dad nope. Kid why not . Dad it doesnt work that way. Kid why not . Vo are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed . Wealth management at Charles Schwab m m all of us take offense. We see little option but to remain in the shadows or risk their families being torn apart. Its been this way for decades. And fordecades, we havent done much about it. The newspaper usa today published a surprising interview with oklahoma senator and susan page asked senator coburn how he thinks republicans were going to react to tonights speech. This, amazingly, was his answer. Well, i dont think its so much republican reaction. Here, the country is going to go nuts because theyre going to see it as a move outside of the authority of the president. And its going to be a very dangerous situation. You can see instances of anarchy. What do you mean . You could see violence. The country is going to go nuts. Instances of anarchy by which i mean violence. Really, senator, are you sure . Joining us now is robert gibs who knows a thing or two about the white house. Rob earer robert, nice to see you. Thanks for being here. E. Thanks for having me, rachel. First of all, how is the white house handling that core charge from republicans that this is old the president s authority, this e that this is unprecedented, that this is tier ran kal. How are they dealing with that charge . I think the president dealt with it head on in that speech tonight and addressed it very early by discussing how he actually did possess all the authority necessary to do that, legal scholars will back that up. I think what senator coburn was saying actually probably isnt something that youll see the white house spend a ton of time responding to because i think like be of the viewers who watched that interview, theyre a bit taken back by the idea that the president s announcement will be met with lawlessness and violence. After all, the core policy of Immigration Reform that the president enunciated today is probably 6065 of the American People. There arent policy differences on this. Theres a difference on the will to get it done. So on that point, there is a lot of good, political axioms about whether or not youre fighting about the process or whether youre fighting about the substance, people say that means youre losing the fight. But on the issue of the process, we cant get any elected Public Officials to come on the air. Even before the speech. The republican strategists, very reasonable guys, very nice guys, actually friends of mine in most cases, were so exercised you could see them sweat. So up set about the president being so inappropriate and unconstitutional in this action. I dont think theyre faking it. I think theyve really talked themselves into this idea that this is something not just that no other president has done, but this president has never done anything this radical. I feel like that this their sort of position of conflict for the president right now is a sharper edge than its ever been. Well, you know, which is sort of hard to believe, given the fact that, you know, i think republicans, this town, most of america has known this has been coming for quite some time. In fact, if anything, democrats got