President Obama will delay taking executive action on immigration reform until after November’s midterms, White House officials confirmed Saturday.
Obama is punting on the polarizing issue in an attempt to insulate Senate Democrats from GOP attacks and preserve control of the upper chamber.
“The reality the president has had to weigh is that we’re in the midst of the political season, and because of the Republicans’ extreme politicization of this issue, the president believes it would be harmful to the policy itself and to the long-term prospects for comprehensive immigration reform to announce administrative action before the elections,” a White House official said. “Because he wants to do this in a way that’s sustainable, the president will take action on immigration before the end of the year.”
For weeks, the White House had been signaling that Obama would act on immigration by the end of summer. However, vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election pressured the White House to delay unveiling the plan until after November, saying Obama was needlessly giving Republicans ammunition to use against them.
By appeasing centrist Democrats, though, the president is alienating a progressive base that expected him to immediately take major steps to defer the deportations of millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The White House is banking that liberal voters will still show up to vote in November despite their frustration with the delay on immigration reform.
This article was first posted at 10:31 a.m. and has since been updated.
