President Barack Obama is expected to order an overhaul of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement system, adding more security at the border, expanding opportunities for legal immigrants with tech skills, and clarifying priority levels for deportation of undocumented immigrants (i.e. lower priority for those with strong family ties and no “serious criminal history”).
The changes, detailed by the New York Times, also protect up to five million undocumented immigrants from deportation, enabling many of them – parents of American citizens or legal residents – to obtain legal work documents if they have worked in the United States for at least five years.