WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security will stop deporting younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. He says this will make the system "more fair, more efficient and more just."

The president says it "makes no sense to expel talented young people" who are essentially Americans. He says he was taking the action in the absence of action by Congress "to fix our broken system."

Obama's election-year initiative should help him among Hispanic voters. It will begin granting young immigrants work permits, affecting as many as 800,000 young people who have lived in fear of deportation.

A man in the Rose Garden asked Obama while he was speaking, "Why do you favor foreigners over American workers?" Obama responded that "this is the right thing to do."

Secretary of State Janet Napolitano stated, "Our nation's immigration laws must be enforced in a firm  and sensible manner," said Secretary Napolitano. "But they are not designed to  be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual  circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young  people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language.  Discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified  here."

Napolitano explained the plan in a press release Friday morning. The release, made available by the Washington Post, lists the criteria that an individual must satisfy:

-- Came to the US before the age of 16

-- Is not above the age of 30

-- Lived in the US for at least 5 consecutive years

-- "Is currently in school, graduated high school, obtained a general education development certificate, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces"

-- Has not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, multiple misdemeanors, and does not pose a threat to national security or public safety

(Information from the Associated Press and CBS News was used in this report.)