U.S. President Barack Obama plans to bypass Congress and announce executive action on immigration.
The White House says Mr. Obama will address the nation Thursday on what it says are the details of his plan to fix a broken system.
It is expected to include protection from deportation for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants, who will also be made eligible for work permits.
This would include parents and spouses of U.S. citizens.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president's action will strengthen national security at U.S. borders, strengthen the economy, and let millions of people come out from hiding and comply with the law.
Some Republicans in Congress accuse the president of overstepping his authority.
The White House spokesman says nearly every president from both parties as far back as Dwight Eisenhower took executive action to tackle problems with immigration.
The Democratically-controlled Senate passed bipartisan immigration reform, but Earnest says the country has been waiting for more than a year for a bill to come up for a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Many Republicans say Mr. Obama and the Democrats want to grant amnesty to lawbreakers - calling this unfair to those who have been trying to legally immigrate to the United States.
They also want tougher security along the U.S.-Mexican border.