President Obama Friday dismissed Republican warnings against taking executive action on immigration reform, telling GOP leaders his unilateral plan is “going to happen before the end of the year” unless they pass a bill of their own.
“There has been ample opportunity for Congress to pass a bipartisan immigration bill that would strengthen our borders, improve the legal immigration system,” Obama said during a press conference in Myanmar, part of a weeklong trip to Asia.
“It passed out of the Senate,” he added. “I gave the House over a year to at least give a vote to the Senate bill. They failed to do so.”
According to multiple reports, the president is set to take executive action that would defer deportations for up to 5 million undocumented immigrants and grant many of those individuals work permits.
Obama’s announcement could as come as early as next week, but senior Democrats are pressing the White House to hold off on unveiling the blueprint until Congress passes a budget for the rest of the fiscal year. Some conservatives have floated the idea of tying up the spending bill if Obama moves forward unilaterally on immigration.
Immigration advocates want the president to act immediately, saying they’ve grown impatient with Obama after he delayed the release of his blueprint until after the midterms.
