memeorandum: Scores in N.C. are legally ‘innocent,’ yet still imprisoned (Brad Heath/USA Today)

3:30 PM ET, June 15, 2012

Top Items:

Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:

AP sources: Immunity offered to certain immigrants — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives. The election-year initiative addresses …

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Rep. Steve King to sue Obama administration over new immigration policy — Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King said Friday that he plans to sue the Obama administration to halt implementation of its newly announced selective illegal immigration law enforcement policy.

Discussion: Guardian, ThinkProgress and The PJ Tatler

Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Obama To Stop Deporting DREAM-Eligible Youth, Protecting 1 Million Undocumented Students — President Obama will announce a new immigration policy this morning that will allow some undocumented students to avoid deportation and receive work authorization.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Daily Caller, Pirate's Cove, The National Memo, Jammie Wearing Fools and Balloon Juice

John H. Cushman Jr / New York Times:

U.S. to Stop Deporting Some Illegal Immigrants — WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children will be able to obtain work permits and be safe from deportation under a new policy announced on Friday by the Obama administration.

Discussion: Ezra Klein, The New Republic, msnbc.com, The Daily Beast, Immigration Impact and Salon

Department of Homeland Security:

Secretary Napolitano Announces Deferred Action Process for Young People Who Are Low Enforcement Priorities — La Secretaria Napolitano Anuncia Proceso De Acción Diferida Para Jóvenes Que Sean De Baja Prioridad Para La Aplicación De La Ley

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Mediaite, The New Republic, Campaign 2012, Washington Wire, CNN, Washington Post, ImmigrationProf Blog and Business Insider

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Why Obama's Decision To Stop Deporting DREAM-Eligible Youth Is Good For The Economy

Discussion: Shakesville and The New Civil Rights Movement

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Rep. Allen West Alleges New Obama Policy On DREAMers Is Voter Fraud Conspiracy For 2012 Election

Discussion: Washington Post, The New Civil Rights Movement, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Political Carnival and Fox News Insider

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Obama makes election-year change in deportation policy

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Rush Limbaugh

Neil Munro / The Daily Caller:
Obama administration tries to downplay impact, muffle public opposition to amnesty move

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement and iOwnTheWorld.com

Tom Cohen / CNN:
Young immigrant deportations stopped

Discussion: iWatch News Latest Stories, Hit & Run, This Just In and TIME Ideas

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Secret report: Catch and release for low-priority illegals proposed

Discussion: dhorowitz3's blog, Moonbattery and Riehl World View

Michael O'Brien / msnbc.com:
The latest political headlines powered by NBC News and msnbc.com

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Washington Wire, Guardian, Boston Globe, Arizona Republic, The Moderate Voice and Conservatives4Palin

Mariano Castillo / CNN:
Joy, skepticism at immigration policy move

Discussion: Associated Press and iOwnTheWorld.com

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Skip the falsehoods, Mr. President, and give us a plan — I had high hopes for President Obama's speech on the economy. But instead of going to Ohio on Thursday with a compelling plan for the future, the president gave Americans a falsehood wrapped in a fallacy.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Wire, Washington Monthly, The White House, The Daily Dish, Balloon Juice, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Pirate's Cove, americanthinker.com, New York Magazine, neo-neocon, Crooks and Liars, The PJ Tatler, Pundit & Pundette and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

The Political Contrast — President Obama sometimes forgets that an important speech does not have to be endless. On Thursday, appearing before supporters at a Cleveland community college, he spent 53 minutes on the stark contrast between his goals and the failed Bush-era policies that Mitt Romney is trying to resurrect.

Discussion: The New Republic, Politics Plus, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, The Maddow Blog, Gothamist and The Caucus

Hunter Walker / Politicker:
President Obama's Speech Gets A Thumbs Down From Political Press Corps

New York Post:
Running on empty — Man, is Barack Obama running dry.

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette

Ruschell Boone / NY1.com:

NY1 Exclusive: School Prohibits Fifth-Grader From Giving Speech On Same-Sex Marriage … Kameron Slade worked on his speech with his mother and his teacher after winning a class competition. He was slated to deliver it in a school-wide contest at PS 195. — That's no longer going to happen.

Discussion: Advocate, Truth Wins Out, theGrio, Towleroad News #gay, New York Magazine, Gawker, Gothamist and BuzzFeed

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
Fifth-Grader Prohibited From Giving Speech Supporting Marriage Equality

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, The Daily What, Taylor Marsh and The Raw Story

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

McCain: Adelson funding Romney Super PAC with ‘foreign money’ — Senator and Romney presidential campaign surrogate John McCain (R-AZ) said Thursday that casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is indirectly injecting millions of dollar in Chinese “foreign money” into Mitt Romney's presidential election effort.

Discussion: Politico, Firedoglake, tpmmuckraker …, Balloon Juice, Wonkette, New York Magazine, ABCNEWS and Mondoweiss

Justin Sink / The Hill:
McCain says casino mogul is putting ‘foreign money’ into 2012 campaign

Discussion: GOP 12 and Algemeiner.com

Ben Feller / Associated Press:

Obama to Celebrities: 'You're the Ultimate Arbiter of Which Direction This Country Goes' — NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama soaked in the support — and the campaign cash — of Manhattan's elite entertainers Thursday as his re-election team sought to fill its fundraising coffers.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs, Sister Toldjah, protein wisdom and Questions and Observations

John Lauinger / NY Daily News:
President Obama visits Sarah Jessica Parker's Manhattan brownstone for elaborate fund-raiser

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Sally Goldenberg / New York Post:

It's a ‘trick’ question — They're not hookers — they just look as if they could be! — A dozen scantily clad women rallied outside City Hall yesterday, decrying a bill they say prevents beauties wearing skimpy clothes from getting a fair shot at hailing a yellow cab.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, protein wisdom, The PJ Tatler and Politicker

Tim Mak / Politico:

Rahm Emanuel: Reduce pot penalties — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is backing a plan to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to a report. — If City Council agrees, those caught with 15 grams of marijuana or less would be given a fine from between $100 and $500, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Discussion: Algemeiner.com

Chicago Sun Times:
Emanuel: Decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana

Discussion: CBS Chicago and The Raw Story

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Romney mum on immigration change as he embarks on six-state bus tour — Mitt Romney began his five-day, six-state bus tour on Friday with renewed criticism of President Obama, blasting his opponent as “a detached and distant president who never seems to hear” the voices of the American people.

Discussion: Indecision Forever

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Could Pennsylvania Go Red? — When Mitt Romney's bus tour pulls …

Discussion: CNN and ABCNEWS

David Sirota / Salon:

Obama chief's anti-gay secret — Jim Messina's old boss once denied involvement with a homophobic ad. A new profile suggests they knew all along — In their quest to promote themselves as political tough guys, did Senator Max Baucus and President Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Moe Lane and Business Week

Politico:

Inside the Koch World convention — The Koch brothers' political operation has increasingly come to resemble its own political party — and later this month in San Diego, it will hold what amounts to its most ambitious convention to date. — Many of the dozens of rich conservative invitees …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

David Brooks / New York Times:

What Republicans Think — Democrats frequently ask me why the Republicans have become so extreme. As they describe the situation, they usually fall back on some sort of illness metaphor. Republicans have a mania. President Obama has said that Republicans have a “fever” that he hopes will break if he is re-elected.

Discussion: The American Conservative, The New Republic, p m carpenter's commentary, driftglass and Washington Post