Under Pressure From Democrats, Obama Delays Immigration Action Until After Midterm Elections

In June, President Obama promised executive action on immigration.

He lied.

With polls showing a mere 26% Approval Rating for Obama's Immigration Reform Policies, the president bowed to political pressure from his own party and delayed his immigration cram-downs until after the mid-term elections.

Please consider Obama to Delay Executive Action on Immigration.

President Barack Obama will delay executive action on immigration until after the midterm elections, White House officials said Saturday, a bow to political pressure from Democrats in tough Senate races who had complained the action could hurt their campaigns.

The delay breaks Obama’s promise, broadcast from the Rose Garden in June, that he would act on his own by summer’s end to fix as many problems of the immigration system as the law allows.

Now, White House officials say the president will act by the end of the year.

The official added: “The president is confident in his authority to act, and he will before the end of the year.

The executive action had been widely expected to ratchet back deportations and possibly offer work permits to people in the U.S. illegally, perhaps millions. It might also include administrative changes pushed by companies that would produce more legal visas for people seeking to work in the U.S.

On Saturday, Scott Brown, a Republican who is running for the Senate in New Hampshire, and has used immigration to challenge his opponent, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, denounced the White House’s move as cynical.

“President Obama’s decision to delay executive action to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants until after the election is of little comfort to people like myself who believe in the rule of law,” he said. “Make no mistake: President Obama plans to grant amnesty, it’s just that he will cynically wait until after the election so as not to harm Senate Democrats like Jeanne Shaheen.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who faces a tough challenger this fall, also denounced the move.

“What’s so cynical about today’s immigration announcement is that the president isn’t saying he’ll follow the law—he’s just saying he’ll go around the law once it’s too late for Americans to hold his party accountable in the November elections,” he said.