Can he really do this without the permission of Congress? Doesn't matter. "I won," he told us, remember?

LA Times:

The change the administration is announcing today would allow illegal immigrants under the age of 30 to stay and work in the country if they don't pose a national security or public safety risk.

Disqualified from application would be immigrants convicted of crimes, violent criminals, felons and repeat offenders of immigration law.

Those who show that they meet the criteria will be eligible to apply for deferred action on deportation for a period of two years. That status will be renewable, one official said.

They will also be able to apply for authorization to work.

Under the new rules, eligible individuals would have to meet a series of requirements in order to apply. They must have come to the U.S. before they turned 16 and must have resided in the U.S. continuously for at least five years.

They must be present in the U.S. right now, and be enrolled in school, hold a high school diploma or GED or serve in the U.S. military. Veterans who have been honorably discharged would also be eligible.

They cannot be convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense or more than one misdemeanor, or for some other reason pose a security or safety threat.

Obama plans to discuss the announcement in the Rose Garden later today.

This kind of pandering to Hispanics could win him the election. In states like Florida, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada, where Hispanics are a growing part of the electorate, this sort of action could tip the balance in his favor - especially since all of those states are expected to be close.

I'm pretty sure Congress is going to challenge his ability to declare one set of illegals not illegal, and keep the rest of illegals, illegal. Perhaps Obama has mistaken that cardboard crown he got from his last trip to Burger King for the real thing.

He sure is acting like a king, isn't he?

Thomas Lifson adds:

This shines a new light on the DoJ effort to prevent Florida from purging the voter rolls. How many illegals will be votuing with a nod and a wink from Eric Holder?

I would like to see the statutory or constitutional justification for this move. I also wonder how swing voters will react?