President Obama is expected to make an announcement as soon as next week on immigration reform that will protect up to 5 million undocumented immigrants. To find out more, Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked to Michael Shear, White House correspondent for the New York Times.

To sum it up: If you are in the U.S. illegally but have a child who is a citizen, you may be able to apply for deferred action, which means you will not be deported. This may also provide a work permit. And of course, some people will be exempt, especially if they have a criminal record.  

“I think a lot of people would say, these folks are largely employed anyways,” Shear says. “These are mostly people who have been living in the country for many years – five, 10 years in some cases. They hold down jobs, but they’re holding these jobs in kind of a hidden way. Or in a way that they’re constantly looking over their shoulders, having to worry about a deportation proceeding if they’re caught.”

Additional components to the plan include expanding opportunities for immigrants with high-tech skills and adding extra security to the southern border.

“The idea that the administration puts forward is that if you bring these folks out of the shadows in that respect, allow them to sort of hold these jobs in an above-board way, it actually helps the economy instead of  [hurting] it,” Shear said.