Immigration Reform 2014: What Latin American Press Is Saying About Obama's Proposed Executive Action

U.S. President Barack Obama's looming announcement Thursday night detailing his overhaul of the nation's immigration policy was applauded by many newspapers across Central America, whose citizens are among those expected to most benefit from the proposal. But other parts of Latin America weren't that excited about the expected policy changes, with many newspapers burying the story in favor of other news or ignoring it all together.

In Mexico, the Crónica newspaper led with Obama's vow to overhaul the nation's immigration policy with a headline that roughly translated into: "Obama fulfills his threat and signs immigration reform alone." El Norte newspaper, meanwhile, printed no mention of the proposed policy shift on its website, focusing instead on protests scheduled Thursday in Mexico City.

In Honduras, newspapers were focused on the recent death of beauty queen María José Alvarado Muñoz ahead of the Miss World competition next week. La Tribuna, one of the nation's major newspapers, barely gave any coverage to Obama's immigration proposal Thursday morning, only including a link toward the bottom of its online site to an Associated Press article on U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois urging Obama to move forward. An editorial on Wednesday, however, urged Obama to extend legal protections to parents of children who were born in the U.S. Otherwise, the editorial read, "They would be separating families of citizens who have legal rights from the moment they were born in the United States."

In Costa Rica, La Nación newspaper announced "Obama seeks to avoid deportation of undocumented migrants" and used an article from the Associated Press.

In Columbia, Obama received a special section on the website of top newspaper El Tiempo. "This is what is expected today from immigration reform... No deportations, working papers and permission to enter and leave the country, among others," the site blared in a headline.

In Ecuador, El Universo's top stories highlighted various soccer matches and gay marriage rights in the U.S. There was no mention of Obama. Peru also didn't seem too excited about the Obama immigration proposal. It's top newspaper, El Comercio, ignored the debate. Cuba also yawned. Official newspaper Granma highlighted a story about women's rights.