Los Angeles Times
By Christi Parsons, Kathleen Hennessey, and Lisa Mascaro
September 6, 2014
Insisting
that factors beyond his control had created an untenable political
situation, President Obama said Saturday that he would postpone his
promised executive action
to make drastic changes to the immigration system — a delay that leaves
tens of thousands of immigrants open to deportation and millions more
in limbo.
The
president still plans to use his authority to make changes to the
system after the November election, using the time until then to educate
the public on the situation,
he said in a taped interview to air Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I'm
going to act because it's the right thing for the country," Obama said.
"But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public
understands what the
facts are on immigration."
But
his decision to delay changes drew ire from all sides: Republicans who
still oppose any later executive action as a power grab; members of the
president's own party,
who see the delay as putting Democratic votes at risk; and immigration
advocates, who expressed bitter disappointment and spoke of being misled
by the administration after months of working together.
"Today,
President Obama let the politics of fear get in the way of standing up
for justice and fairness," said Marielena Hincapié, executive director
of the National Immigration
Law Center, one of more than 180 Latino, Asian American, labor and
religious groups that had encouraged the president to act.
Obama's
decision reverses a public promise he made to those supporters in June.
Frustrated by Congress' lack of action, he vowed at the time to use the
power of his office
to overhaul the system at the end of the summer. White House officials
had signaled that the president was considering drastic changes that
would allow millions of immigrants living in the country illegally to
temporarily avoid deportation.
The
pressure to act grew complicated as a wave of thousands of
unaccompanied minors from Central America began arriving at the border
over the spring and summer, crowding
detention centers and rocketing immigration into the headlines.
Eventually,
the self-imposed deadline proved too big of a political risk, and Obama
partly blamed that surge and the subsequent public outcry and confusion
over it for
his decision to postpone action.
"The
politics did shift midsummer because of that problem," he said in the
television interview, adding: "I also want to make sure that the public
understands why we're
doing this, why it's the right thing for the American people, why it's
the right thing for the American economy."
In the meantime, he was left to grapple with the fallout of further delay.
As
word spread Saturday, Republican leaders fumed because of what some
candidates, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, called the "cynical" motivations
behind the delay and because the White House was still talking about a
significant change at the end of the year.
"This
is clearly not decision-making designed around the best policy — it's
Washington politics at its worst," McConnell said in a statement.
Hard-line
Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions put it more bluntly: "The only
thing that is more shocking than Senate Democrats' support for the
president's planned executive
amnesty is the cravenness of asking him to proceed beginning the day
after the midterms."
The
president's new timeline could depress turnout among Democratic voters
and, in some key races, Latinos. White House officials say they are
sympathetic to those concerns
from endangered Democrats.
The
crisis at the border this summer has elevated the issue in voters'
minds, making it a more potent attack line for Republicans than even six
months ago. Furthermore,
the White House has no interest in the president or immigration
politics being blamed — fairly or not — for Democratic losses in the
Senate in November. Obama still hopes some immigration legislation may
pass and believes it is good politics for Democrats
to back an overhaul, a White House official said.
If
Republicans win the majority in the Senate this fall and control both
houses of Congress, they may be inclined to address the issue. But
Republicans disagree even among
themselves on immigration, and their proposals are likely to be heavy
on enforcement and security rather than options to legalize the status
of immigrants that Democrats could support.
"The
outcome of these Senate races will not change the political landscape
for immigration reform," predicted progressive Rep. Raul M. Grijalva
(D-Ariz.). "Whether won
or lost, the president will still have to act alone to get this done."
One
senior White House advisor said Saturday that there would still be time
for Obama to implement significant changes at the end of the year if
Congress failed to act.
And senior Democrats said they would back the president in the most
sweeping efforts.
"I
know that the president is determined to act," Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Saturday. "And when he does, I support a broad
use of his authority to
fix as much of our broken immigration system as he can."
Administration
officials have operated on the assumption that they will need time to
implement a truly ambitious new government program, especially if it
involves enrolling
millions of people. As the clock ticks, said one aide, Obama's viable
options wane.
Among
the most ambitious ideas that officials have considered are
administrative changes to grant work permits to immigrants in the
country illegally whose children are
either U.S. citizens or otherwise legal residents. An estimated 11
million immigrants now live in the U.S. without proper documentation.
Though not allowed to work or pay taxes, many of them work illegally and
care for family members who are here legally.
The
newly revealed delay on White House action means further suspense for
immigrants at risk of deportation and may limit how many can enroll in
any eventual administrative
program. Whatever Obama orders under his executive power is subject to
change by the next president, but White House officials believe it will
be harder for a new president to wipe out a program if a critical mass
of people are enrolled in it, and that motivates
them to act as soon as possible.
Obama's
decision also dealt a setback to his long-running strategy of using
executive action to get around congressional deadlock with the stroke of
his pen, but a White
House official pledged the president would act.
"Because
he wants to do this in a way that's sustainable and that's freer of the
political environment we are currently in," the official said, "the
president will make
his announcement before the end of the year."
The
delay only intensifies the pressure on the president to deliver
sweeping reforms this fall, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the
immigration advocacy organization
America's Voice.
"There's
only a few moments when you can make history," said Sharry, who said
his group was "bitterly disappointed" with the delay. "The pressure is
on them to do more."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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