After Obama's Announcement, Many Fla. Immigration Lawyers Bombarded With Calls

After President Barack Obama unveiled his executive action on immigration Thursday, a lot of Florida immigration experts and lawyers are getting calls from those who want to know how it affects them.

Since the announcement, Tallahassee Immigration Lawyer Elizabeth Ricci says her phone has been ringing off the hook.

“And, of course, a lot of my clients and members of the community watched it and heard it and have been calling and messaging and wanting to know if they’re eligible,” said Ricci.

Included in this plan is an expansion of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It allows those who came to U.S. illegally as kids to stay temporarily without fear of deportation, if they meet specific requirements.

“They are calling it DAP, or Deferred Action for Parents,” added Ricci. “And, that is for a parent of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of any age. So, it could be a child or an adult citizen or permanent resident, and those parents will have to be background checked, pay taxes, and prove their eligibility for DACA…in other words, that they’ve been here since January 1^st, 2010.”   

The overall plan—expected to take effect sometime next year—will affect 4.5 million people.

Meanwhile, Obama's executive action has infuriated many Republicans.  But, he says members of Congress who question his authority to take these actions can simply pass an immigration reform bill.

Below are some tweets regarding the action from both sides:

For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.