After Another Delay, Obama Admin Privately Assures Executive Action on Immigration in 2014

September 15, 2014

With the race for the Senate hinging on states where immigration is unpopular, the Obama Administration bowed to pressure to delay long-planned executive actions until after the November elections. From the Washington Post:

White House officials acknowledged the deep concerns inside the party and emphasized that the decision to delay was also driven by the calculation that a unilateral move in the heat of the electoral season could doom the chances of more sweeping immigration reform beyond Obama’s presidency — maybe for a decade or more.

However, according to a Fox News story published over the weekend, the White House has been privately assuring lawmakers that executive actions will still take place this year:

The White House this week assured anxious Hispanic lawmakers on Capitol Hill that President Obama will use executive action before the holiday season closes to reform U.S. immigration law, after breaking his pledge to make changes by the end of summer…The president faced sharp criticism, including accusations of caving to election-year politics, from Hispanic lawmakers, immigration-reform advocates and others in his Democratic base when the White House revealed last weekend that he would delay action until after the Nov. 4 elections.

 The anxiety of interested lawmakers is well-earned. This administration has made numerous private and public assurances that immigration reform is a high priority, and while some action has been taken, the most politically costly reforms are consistently delayed until some future ideal moment. The Obama administration may well be right in waiting until after the election to push through the proposed reforms, but you cannot fault immigration activists for being disappointed, yet again.

Will one of these pens will be used to sign an executive action on immigration reform? Not before November’s elections. (Photo via whitehouse.gov)

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TAGS: Executive Order, Obama, Obama administration