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Arizonans react to Obama’s decision to take action on immigration

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Friday, Nov. 21, 2014

By Megan Thompson and Yahaira Jacquez

PHOENIX – Some Valley leaders are criticizing President Barack Obama’s decision to take executive action on immigration, saying reform should come through legislation passed by Congress and not an executive order signed by the president. But immigrant community leaders and families who gathered at the State Capitol to hear the president’s speech were eager to see what executive action will mean for them. The president’s plan will protect up to 5 million people from deportation, according to the Migration Policy Institute, but that leaves as many as 6 million estimated immigrants who are here illegally and would not be covered.