President Obama said he will not take unilateral action on amnesty before the elections in November. Polls have consistently shown public opposition to Obama acting on his own. Pressure from Senate Democrats who did not want to risk the voters’ ire weeks before an election likely influenced the decision as well.
Obama said the public opinion had changed after the border surge, but denied that electoral politics were involved in the delay. “The truth of the matter is that the politics did shift midsummer because of that [border surge] problem. I want to spend some time, even as we're getting all our ducks in a row for the executive action, 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.”
Commenting on the move, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala, said “President Obama has openly reaffirmed his unconstitutional plan to nullify our nation’s sovereign laws, issuing executive amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal immigrants. In so doing, he will wipe away American workers’ lawful immigration protections. Illegal workers will be instantly allowed to take precious jobs directly from struggling Americans in every occupation in America. Countless more unlawful workers will pour across the border and overstay their visas. These executive actions will incentivize a tsunami of illegality.
“President Obama’s announcement that this would come only after the midterm elections is of course an attempt to protect the Senate Democrat incumbents who have enabled President’s Obama lawless immigration decrees every step of the way.
“This White House, and this Senate Democrat Conference, view everyday Americans – who want their laws enforced and their borders controlled – with contempt. They believe our nation’s immigration policy should be decided by a handful of the world’s most elite CEOs and most powerful open borders lobbyists, operating in secrecy and outside our open governmental process.
“There must be no confusion on this point: not one Senate Democrat has supported the House bill to stop this executive action and demanded that Leader Reid bring it to a vote. Every Senate Democrat is therefore the President’s direct partner in this lawless scheme. The remedy now is for the American voter to send a message that will thunder through the halls of Congress. Though President Obama and his Senate Democrats refuse to believe so, the American citizen is still in charge of this government and this country.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Obama’s decision “cynical” and said “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. This is clearly not decision-making designed around the best policy — it’s Washington politics at its worst.”
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said “But the decision to simply delay this deeply-controversial and possibly unconstitutional unilateral action until after the election - instead of abandoning the idea altogether - smacks of raw politics...The American people deserve honesty, transparency, and accountability - and any unilateral action will only further strain the bonds of trust between the White House and the people they are supposed to serve.”
Read more in The Washington Times.
