Obama defends immigration amnesty

Barack Obama has shrugged off Republican criticism of his move to lift the threat of deportation from millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States.

In an interview on ABC’s This Week, the US president said it was important that he acted unilaterally to prioritise the deportation of criminals and recent arrivals and spare those who had lived illegally in the US for at least five years and had roots, including children who were American citizens.