The issue focused on illegal immigrants illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico and Central America. Obama argued that enforcement efforts against illegal immigrants should focus solely on criminal offenders. The Supreme Court upheld Obama's immigration orders in June 2013.

Obama signed two executive orders aimed at boosting employment opportunities for immigrant youth. One ordered federal agencies to extend unemployment insurance benefits to approximately 300,000 youths currently unemployed through January 2014. Another expanded grants for employers who hire undocumented immigrants and grant legal status to parents of children born in the United