Amnesty countdown begins

Fox News has learned that the administration plans to announce the executive orders on immigration as early as next Friday. The 10 point plan will, as expected,m exempt millions of illegal aliens from deportation.

The president's plans were contained in a draft proposal from a U.S. government agency. The source said the plan could be announced as early as Nov. 21, though the date might slip a few days pending final White House approval. 

Obama was briefed at the White House by Homeland Security officials before leaving on his Asia-Pacific trip last week, Fox News has learned. 

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama in Burma Thursday that the president had not made a final decision on any executive actions concerning immigration and would not announce any until he returned to Washington. 

The plan contains 10 initiatives than span everything from boosting border security to improving pay for immigration officers. 

But the most controversial pertain to the millions who could get a deportation reprieve under what is known as "deferred action." 

The plan calls for expanding deferred action for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children -- but also for the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. 

The latter could allow upwards of 4.5 million illegal immigrant adults with U.S.-born children to stay, according to estimates. 

Critics in the Senate say those who receive deferred action, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, receive work authorization in the United States, Social Security numbers and government-issued IDs.

Another portion that is sure to cause consternation among anti-"amnesty" lawmakers is a plan to expand deferred action for young people. In June 2012, Obama created such a program for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, entered before June 2007 and were under 31 as of June 2012. The change would expand that to cover anyone who entered before they were 16, and change the cut-off from June 2007 to Jan. 1, 2010. This is estimated to make nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants eligible. 

That's five million illegals made legal with the stroke of a pen, but who's counting? Other parts of the plan include giving a 50% discount on naturalization fees to the first 10,000 applicants - presumably as a spur to get the ball rolling. Also, ICE agents and border patrolmen will receive a raise. Also,

Tech jobs though a State Department immigrant visa program would offer another half-million immigrants a path to citizenship. This would include their spouses as well. 

The other measures include calls to revise removal priorities to target serious criminals for deportation and end the program known as "Secure Communities" and start a new program.

Because who needs "secure communities," right?

This is worse than most people thought, although there is still a chance some of it will be scrubbed for political reasons. What can Congress do about it?

In a recent op-ed in Politico, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Congress would stop Obama from taking executive action by adding language explicitly barring money from being used for that purpose. "Congress has the power of the purse. The President cannot spend a dime unless Congress appropriates it," Sessions wrote. He also pointed out that similar language in the past has prevented the president from closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Obama has shown a willingness in the past to take money from other accounts he controls to fund his pet schemes. He did it with the Obamacare rollout and will probably do something similar with immigration if Congress cuts off funds to implement his plan.

Other presidents have used "deferred action" executive orders for illegal immigrants but never on such a massive scale. This is classic executive overreach - perhaps the biggest expansion of presidential power in history. And it comes without the consent of Congress and the clear opposition of the American people.

The sad truth is, he will probably get away with it.

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