President Barack Obama brushed off complaints levied by the GOP that his immigration actions are illegal in an ABC News interview that aired today, saying that the U.S. has 'limited resources' and it only makes sense for the government to prioritize the removal of 'felons, criminals and recent arrivals' over longtime residents and families. 'Everybody knows, including Republicans, that we're not going to deport 11 million people,' Obama told George Stephanopolous during a Friday interview for his Sunday morning program This Week. 'The reason that we have to do prosecutorial discretion in immigration is that we know that we are not even close to being able to deal with the folks who have been here a long time,' he said. In the extended interview Obama and Stephanopolous also discussed the grand jury investigation into Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and the 2016 presidential race. President Barack Obama told ABC News host George Stephanopolous in an interview that aired today that his main piece of advice to residents of Ferguson would be to 'keep protests peaceful' after the grand jury announces its decision in the case against police officer Darren Wilson . When it comes to Ferguson, the president encouraged the Missouri town's residents to 'keep protests peaceful.' 'This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, but using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are,' Obama said. The president declined to say whether or not he was worried about outbursts of violence if Wilson is not indicted on criminal charges for shooting and killing local teen Michael Brown, however he noted that protests over the summer showed that there's a 'possibility of even overwhelmingly peaceful crowds being overrun by a few thugs.' He also indicated that he may pay Ferguson a visit, depending on the outcome of the court case, which could be decided as soon as Monday, and the town's response to it. 'In the end what I have confidence in is that if we do a better job of training our law enforcement to be sensitive to the concerns of minority communities, then over time trust can be built in part because minority communities typically are subject to more crime,' he stated. 'They need law enforcement more than anybody. 'And there are a lot of communities in my hometown of Chicago, for example, who actually want to see more police in, but they want to make sure that the police are trained so they can distinguish between a gangbanger and a kid who just happens to be wearing a hoodie but otherwise is a good kid and not doing anything wrong.' Overall, Obama said he believed race relations were improving in America, however. 'In a democracy progress is incremental and it goes in stutter steps and sometimes there's some back-sliding, but the overall trajectory I think is positive,' he concluded. Prodded by Stephanopolous to endorse a successor, namely Democratic frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama said he didn't want to 'jump the gun.' He did call Clinton a 'friend,' however, and attested that she did an 'outstanding' job at State. Whoever the Democratic nominee ends up being, Obama said it's in his interest 'do everything I can obviously to make sure that whoever the nominee is is successful.' If Clinton runs, she would be a 'formidable candidate,' though, he said. 'I think she'd be a great president.' 'She's not going to agree with me on everything,' he acknowledged, and 'one of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions and have a clean slate, a fresh start.' Pointing out that after six years he has 'some dings,' Obama told Stephanopolous, 'I think the American people, you know, they're going to want that new car smell. 'They want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me.' Speaking about immigration, Obama said it only makes sense for the government to prioritize the removal of 'felons, criminals and recent arrivals' over children and families who have been in the U.S. for a long time . Speaking about immigration, Obama again called on the House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants residing in America illegally. 'Ultimately Congress has a responsibility to deal with these issues, and there are some things that I can't do on my own,' Obama said. To Republicans complaining that he shouldn't have acted unilaterally, including House Speaker John Boehner, Obama said his response is this: 'Go ahead and pass legislation.' 'In the meantime, what we've got to make sure of is, number one, that our borders are secure and, number two, it's gonna to allow us to focus on the people that we really want out, number three, what it allows us to do is to say to folks who have been here for awhile, register...you're going to submit to a criminal background check, and you're going to pay taxes.' He also chided Republicans for threatening to stop working with him on a host of other issues over his immigration mandate. 'What the American people expect is that if we disagree on one thing, then we disagree on that thing and then we work on everything else,' he argued. House Republicans need to stop holding other legislative fixes 'hostage' over 'one disagreement,' he said, referencing the government shutdown last year over Obamacare funding. Obama formally announced his plans to delay deportations for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants during a presidential address on Thursday evening from the White House. The next day he traveled to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, to celebrate with his supporters. On the way there, he issued two memorandums to the Department of Homeland Security affiliated with his immigration orders. But the president's actions were met with less enthusiasm than he likely expected from some advocates of comprehensive immigration reform who think his executive actions didn't go far enough. While they protect individuals who were were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation as well as the parents of American-born children, his directive will not keep the parents of illegal immigrant children from being sent back to their home countries. President Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he leaves the auditorium at Del Sol High School, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday after his speech on immigration. Roughly 1,600 activists gathered there to thank Obama for deferring deportations for 5 million illegal immigrants . During Friday's speech two young men from Arizona called out the president for not expanding his deferred deportation program to cover the parents of so-called DREAMers, as well. 'Why did you leave my mom behind?' CBS News says they shouted at him. In his response the president assured him that 'this is a just a first step,' and 'it’s not the only step.' 'We’re still going to have to do more work,' he said, explaining that Congress still needs to pass a bill making 'permanent' his changes to the immigration process so that they are not undone by the next president. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that Obama practically did give every illegal immigrant residing in America amnesty because the memo he sent DHS 'says they are not to enforce immigration laws other than for violent criminals' and a few other discrete categories. 'The president is instructing the executive branch [to] no longer enforce the immigration laws,' Cruz, a probable Republican candidate for president in 2016, told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace. 'It is a stunning and sad display of a president declining to honor his constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' Cruz said what Obama did last week is 'a wholesale refusal to follow our immigration laws,' and he's 'essentially he's gotten in the job of counterfeiting immigration papers, because there's no legal authority to do what he's doing.' Leading Democrat Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, came out in favor of former boss' actions over the weekend during an appearance at the New York Historical Society. 'I think the president took an historic step and I support it,' she said, according to the Associated Press.
Obama made the remarks during an interview with This Week host George Stephanopolous that was broadcast Sunday .
'We are not even close to being able to deal with the folks who have been here a long time,' he said .
'It is a stunning and sad display of a president declining to honor his constitutional obligation,' GOP Sen. Ted Cruz said in response .
The president declined to if he was worried about outbursts of violence in Ferguson if police officer Darren Wilson is not indicted .
He also wouldn't endorse Hillary Clinton for president but said she'd be 'a great president' and gave her his blessing to depart from his positions .
Americans 'want that new car smell,' he said. 'They want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me'
President Barack Obama brushed off complaints levied by the GOP that his immigration actions are illegal in an ABC News interview that aired today, saying that the U.S. has 'limited resources' and it only makes sense for the government to prioritize the removal of 'felons, criminals and recent arrivals' over longtime residents and families. 'Everybody knows, including Republicans, that we're not going to deport 11 million people,' Obama told George Stephanopolous during a Friday interview for his Sunday morning program This Week. 'The reason that we have to do prosecutorial discretion in immigration is that we know that we are not even close to being able to deal with the folks who have been here a long time,' he said. In the extended interview Obama and Stephanopolous also discussed the grand jury investigation into Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and the 2016 presidential race. President Barack Obama told ABC News host George Stephanopolous in an interview that aired today that his main piece of advice to residents of Ferguson would be to 'keep protests peaceful' after the grand jury announces its decision in the case against police officer Darren Wilson . When it comes to Ferguson, the president encouraged the Missouri town's residents to 'keep protests peaceful.' 'This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, but using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are,' Obama said. The president declined to say whether or not he was worried about outbursts of violence if Wilson is not indicted on criminal charges for shooting and killing local teen Michael Brown, however he noted that protests over the summer showed that there's a 'possibility of even overwhelmingly peaceful crowds being overrun by a few thugs.' He also indicated that he may pay Ferguson a visit, depending on the outcome of the court case, which could be decided as soon as Monday, and the town's response to it. 'In the end what I have confidence in is that if we do a better job of training our law enforcement to be sensitive to the concerns of minority communities, then over time trust can be built in part because minority communities typically are subject to more crime,' he stated. 'They need law enforcement more than anybody. 'And there are a lot of communities in my hometown of Chicago, for example, who actually want to see more police in, but they want to make sure that the police are trained so they can distinguish between a gangbanger and a kid who just happens to be wearing a hoodie but otherwise is a good kid and not doing anything wrong.' Overall, Obama said he believed race relations were improving in America, however. 'In a democracy progress is incremental and it goes in stutter steps and sometimes there's some back-sliding, but the overall trajectory I think is positive,' he concluded. Prodded by Stephanopolous to endorse a successor, namely Democratic frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama said he didn't want to 'jump the gun.' He did call Clinton a 'friend,' however, and attested that she did an 'outstanding' job at State. Whoever the Democratic nominee ends up being, Obama said it's in his interest 'do everything I can obviously to make sure that whoever the nominee is is successful.' If Clinton runs, she would be a 'formidable candidate,' though, he said. 'I think she'd be a great president.' 'She's not going to agree with me on everything,' he acknowledged, and 'one of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions and have a clean slate, a fresh start.' Pointing out that after six years he has 'some dings,' Obama told Stephanopolous, 'I think the American people, you know, they're going to want that new car smell. 'They want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me.' Speaking about immigration, Obama said it only makes sense for the government to prioritize the removal of 'felons, criminals and recent arrivals' over children and families who have been in the U.S. for a long time . Speaking about immigration, Obama again called on the House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants residing in America illegally. 'Ultimately Congress has a responsibility to deal with these issues, and there are some things that I can't do on my own,' Obama said. To Republicans complaining that he shouldn't have acted unilaterally, including House Speaker John Boehner, Obama said his response is this: 'Go ahead and pass legislation.' 'In the meantime, what we've got to make sure of is, number one, that our borders are secure and, number two, it's gonna to allow us to focus on the people that we really want out, number three, what it allows us to do is to say to folks who have been here for awhile, register...you're going to submit to a criminal background check, and you're going to pay taxes.' He also chided Republicans for threatening to stop working with him on a host of other issues over his immigration mandate. 'What the American people expect is that if we disagree on one thing, then we disagree on that thing and then we work on everything else,' he argued. House Republicans need to stop holding other legislative fixes 'hostage' over 'one disagreement,' he said, referencing the government shutdown last year over Obamacare funding. Obama formally announced his plans to delay deportations for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants during a presidential address on Thursday evening from the White House. The next day he traveled to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, to celebrate with his supporters. On the way there, he issued two memorandums to the Department of Homeland Security affiliated with his immigration orders. But the president's actions were met with less enthusiasm than he likely expected from some advocates of comprehensive immigration reform who think his executive actions didn't go far enough. While they protect individuals who were were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation as well as the parents of American-born children, his directive will not keep the parents of illegal immigrant children from being sent back to their home countries. President Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he leaves the auditorium at Del Sol High School, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday after his speech on immigration. Roughly 1,600 activists gathered there to thank Obama for deferring deportations for 5 million illegal immigrants . During Friday's speech two young men from Arizona called out the president for not expanding his deferred deportation program to cover the parents of so-called DREAMers, as well. 'Why did you leave my mom behind?' CBS News says they shouted at him. In his response the president assured him that 'this is a just a first step,' and 'it’s not the only step.' 'We’re still going to have to do more work,' he said, explaining that Congress still needs to pass a bill making 'permanent' his changes to the immigration process so that they are not undone by the next president. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that Obama practically did give every illegal immigrant residing in America amnesty because the memo he sent DHS 'says they are not to enforce immigration laws other than for violent criminals' and a few other discrete categories. 'The president is instructing the executive branch [to] no longer enforce the immigration laws,' Cruz, a probable Republican candidate for president in 2016, told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace. 'It is a stunning and sad display of a president declining to honor his constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' Cruz said what Obama did last week is 'a wholesale refusal to follow our immigration laws,' and he's 'essentially he's gotten in the job of counterfeiting immigration papers, because there's no legal authority to do what he's doing.' Leading Democrat Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, came out in favor of former boss' actions over the weekend during an appearance at the New York Historical Society. 'I think the president took an historic step and I support it,' she said, according to the Associated Press.
Sunday morning program This Week. 'The reason immigration is that we know that we are not even close to being able to deal with the folks who have been here a long time,' he said. In the extended interview Obama and Stephanopolous also Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and the told ABC News host George Stephanopolous in an declined to say whether or not he was worried about outbursts of violence if Wilson is not she'd be a great president.' 'She's not going to know, they're going to want that new car smell. 'They want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me.' Speaking to folks who have been here for awhile, by the next president. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said stunning and sad display of a president declining to honor his constitutional obligation to take