US President Barack Obama eased enforcement of immigration laws Friday, offering a chance for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and work.

Immediately embraced by Hispanics, the extraordinary step touched off an election-year confrontation with congressional Republicans.

"Let's be clear, this is not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship, this is not a permanent fix," Obama said from the White House Rose Garden. "This is the right thing to do."

Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Washington DC.