What can we expect from Obama's immigration plan?

President Barack Obama is expected to announce a new immigration plan by the end of the year.

This new plan could mean legal status for nearly five million undocumented immigrants.

More from The New York Times:

Obama's executive actions will not provide any formal, lasting immigration status, much less a pathway to citizenship.

The actions will, however, have a large and, White House officials hope, swift impact on the daily lives of many immigrant families, removing fears that relatives could be separated from one another by deportations. Many immigrants will also receive work permits, which will give them Social Security numbers and allow them to work legally under their own names and travel within the United States, although not abroad. In some states, they will be able to get driver's licenses and professional certificates.

On The Daily Circuit, we examine the political and legal landscape around this issue.