With November's midterm elections looming, the same Democrats who urged President Barack Obama to take swift executive action on immigration reform before the end of summer now are hoping that he will put on the brakes.
Many Democrats fear that if Obama issues an executive order granting temporary legal status to some or all of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, he will give Republicans a powerful weapon to keep control of the House and take control of the Senate in the midterms.
So the party of the president is backpedaling, asking Obama to wait until after the election to take any action — or leave immigration reform up to Congress,
Politico reports.
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson supports executive action, but wants the president to wait until after November, Politico says. Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, told Politico that executive action "would inflame the issue and I just think it would be a mistake. I hope the White House and the administration are reconsidering their statements on unilateral action."
In June, Obama promised unilateral executive action, saying in a Rose Garden speech, "If Congress will not do their job, at least we can do ours. I expect ... recommendations before the end of summer and I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay."
Since then, White House spokesman
Josh Earnest has waffled on the question of timing, saying, "There is the chance that it could be before the end of the summer. There is the chance that it could be after the summer."
Democratic Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina; Mark Pryor of Arkansas; Mary Landrieu of Louisiana; and Mark Begich of Alaska are urging Obama to allow the issue to be settled by Congress, not by executive action,
according to Politico.
However, this leaves Obama stuck between a rock and a hard place politically — Latinos, whose votes Democrats covet, are demanding swift action.
Jose Calderon, president of the Hispanic Federation, told Politico that any delay "is not acceptable to us. We're into accountability. We will hold Republicans accountable and the same thing with Democrats."
Lorella Praeli, director of advocacy ad policy for immigration group United We Dream, warned Politico, "Our community is done with broken promises."
While sizable Latino voter turnout could help Democrats in many contested states with high Latino voting populations, crucial races are being held in Alaska, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Louisiana, where Latinos make up only 2 to 3 percent of voters and would have little impact.
Politico reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has declined to pressure Obama to act, saying in a recent speech, "The decision is the president's. I'm confident he's going to do something. He has to decide when he's going to do it."