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What President Obama's Executive Action Means For Immigrants In Maryland

abcnews.com

President Barack Obama issued an executive order last night promising that, at least for now, about five million people who entered the country illegally will not face deportation.

 

President Obama: I know some of the critics of the action call it amnesty. Well, it’s not. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today. Millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time. That’s the real amnesty, leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character.

Thousands of Marylanders are affected by the President’s action, including Yesenia Mejia, who lives in Baltimore. She entered the country illegally from Mexico more than a decade ago. She joins us to talk about what the action means for her.

We're also joined by Elizabeth Alex, lead organizer for the Central Maryland region for Casa de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group, as well as Van Doan, an immigration lawyer in Columbia.
 
You can watch President Obama announce his executive order to the country via The Washington Post.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.