WASHINGTON (AP) — As Republican leaders dampen expectations for overhauling immigration laws this year, the White House is hoping that the GOP resistance is temporary and tactical, and it’s resisting pressure from some political allies for President Barack Obama to take matters into his own hands and ease his administration’s deportation record.

For a president looking for a legacy piece of legislation, the current state of the immigration debate represents a high wire act. He could act alone to slow deportations, and probably doom any chance of a permanent and comprehensive overhaul. Yet if he shows too much patience, the opportunity to fix immigration laws as he wants could well slip away.