Congressional Republicans warned President Obama to refrain from taking executive action to stem deportations or allow a flood of new immigrants into the country.
Instead, the GOP offered to tackle immigration reform in January, but Obama dismissed the offer, Reuters reported Friday.
In a meeting that ran longer than two hours and that included the top House and Senate congressional leaders from both parties, the newly minted GOP majority told Obama jobs and the economy will be their top legislative priorities in the new Congress.
But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, also asserted the GOP’s opposition to executive actions on immigration issues.
“The speaker warned that unilateral action by the president on executive amnesty will erase any chances of doing immigration reform and will also make it harder for Congress and the White House to work together successfully on other areas where there might otherwise be common ground,” a spokesman said after the meeting.
But the president told Republicans he planned to move ahead unless the GOP passed a bill.
“The president was both courteous and firm in asserting his prerogatives as president on immigration and other issues.” a Democratic congressional source said. “While Republicans were encouraging the president not to take action, the president repeatedly called on the Republican leaders to legislate on immigration.”
According to Reuters, Boehner asked Obama to give the new Congress a chance to work in immigration reform in January.
At that point, Vice President Joe Biden asked how long the GOP would need.
“February 15, March 15?” the vice president asked Boehner, according to Reuters.
Obama then stopped the exchange, but a Democratic aide said Obama did not cut Biden off.
“At no time did the president cut off the vice president,” the aide said. “The president and the vice president both agreed that is long overdue for House Republicans to act on immigration.”
