Latin American leaders hail immigration order

Though it raised the ire of Republicans, US President Barack Obama's executive action to introduce sweeping immigration reforms was hailed by leaders of the Latin American nations from which most of the country's migrants come.

Obama's changes to United States immigration policies would ease the threat of deportation for almost five million people living in the US without legal documents. It's estimated more than 11 million migrants currently live in the States without authorization, with more than half of them having come from Mexico.

"This is an act of justice which recognizes the great contribution of millions of Mexicans to the development of our neighbor," Mexico's president Pena Nieto told reporters on Friday, saying the plan announced Thursday would keep more families together and allow those living in the US to restore ties with relatives back in Mexico.

The office of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez released a statement Friday in which he said Obama's plan "sends a powerful message of solidarity with Latin America."

"This temporary relief is a great step in the right direction from the United States to resolve the migratory issues of 11 million people, and so we urge Congress to permanently resolve their status by approving a deep immigration reform," Hernandez said.

Those sentiments were echoed by leading politicians from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

However, some Central American leaders also felt the need to stress that Obama's reforms were not grounds for more of their citizens to try and illegally move to the United States, as the three-year relief only applied to people who had been in the US for five years and whose children were US citizens or legal residents. They do not offer a pathway to US citizenship.

Obama said his plans also included channeling more resources to the United States' southern border and shifting the priority for deportations towards felons.

Controversy at home

Obama on Friday continued to defend the unilateral manner in which he moved forward his plans.

"We're going to keep on working with members of Congress to make permanent reform a reality," he said in a speech at a Las Vegas high school. "But until that day comes, there are actions that I have the legal authority to take that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just."

Despite their outrage at Obama's measures, Republicans faced a struggle with how to respond. US House Speaker John Boenher said that in going it alone, Obama was "damaging the presidency itself."

"I will say to you, the House will, in fact, act. We will listen to the American people, we will work with our members and we will work to protect the constitution of the United States," he told journalists on Friday.

However, although Republicans now control both chambers of Congress, it is not clear how they could move to block Obama's order, which was currently due to be implemented without a vote in parliament. Possibilities included filing a lawsuit, trying to block funding for the move or advancing their own immigration measures. But Obama holds veto power over any legislative solution settled on.

For both the Republicans and Democrats, how the deeply divisive issue is handled by 2016 presidential hopefuls may have a role in determining who the nominees will be – a sentiment alluded to by former Obama senior advisor David Axelrod.

Republicans will be wary of provoking a government shutdown – a repeat of which would damage their chances in the 2016 race for the White House.

se/jm (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)