The administration is examining how far it can go, legally and politically, to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Despite the flow of young Central American children across the southwestern border, Obama remains committed to taking significant action, according to senior advisers and advocates who have attended recent meetings with White House officials.

In other words, Obama has signaled that he intends to do the exact opposite of what he’s long said he’s unable to do.

“I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing,” Obama said last month in his Rose Garden announcement. “And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it’s bad for our economy, and it’s bad for our future.”

Even immigrant rights advocates, who were on the receiving end of the White House denials for years, were surprised by his abrupt and enthusiastic move toward executive action in June after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ruled out a legislative overhaul of immigration this year.