Obama to Ditch Congress, Go It Alone on Immigration

President Obama held a Rose Garden press conference today about his plan to act on his own to reform US immigration policy, Fox News reports. "America cannot wait forever for them to act," he said of the House. His plan would "fix as much of our immigration system as I can, on my own, without Congress." Obama's move comes after he got word from John Boehner that the House will not vote on the issue this year, a White House official tells the AP. Boehner notified Obama of his plans (or lack thereof) last week, the official said.

Obama's options without Congress are seemingly limited, but he will ask Homeland Security and the Justice Department to present him with options for executive action by the end of the summer. The president said he's told both to use "available resources" for border security. Obama's efforts will likely focus on turning away immigrants as they illegally cross the border, rather than deporting them later. As reported earlier, children are expected to be a major focus. (More Barack Obama stories.)