By: David P. Griscom
President Barack Obama has announced this week that he will delay an Executive Order on the immigration crisis. While he had previously suggested that he would make an executive order, toward the end of the summer the President has announced that he will wait until after the November elections. Barack Obama has claimed that an Executive Order on immigration would not be helpful due to current political climate.
Some believe that this change of plans has come because of the hotly contested Senate races that could result in a Republican majority in the Senate. Republicans have accused Obama
of subverting the democratic process by acting without the consent of Congress. This claim would be bolstered if Obama does make a large Executive Order regarding immigration. There are nine senate races that are closely contested, which has led to the possibility that the Republican’s could control both the House and Senate for Obama’s final two years.
Obama claims that these kind of political calculations are not behind his decision, saying in an interview on Meet the Press sunday: “I’m going to act because it is the right thing for the county. But it’s going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understand what the facts are on immigration.” John Boehner, in a statement released on Saturday, claimed that this announcement to delay the Executive Order“smacks of raw politics … and any unilateral action will only further strain the bonds of trust between the White House and the people they are supposed to serve.”
Congress has yet to come to a solution to comprehensive immigration reform. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act passed the Senate in 2013 but Speaker Boehner has refused to let it be put to a vote in the House. This bi-partisan bill provides noteworthy reform for many undocumented people already inside the US and significant changes to border security. It had seemed that Obama was planning on using an Executive Order to push some aspects of this bill into practice, circumventing the gridlock created by House Republicans. It seems now that all of those who are waiting and hoping for substantial action on immigration reform will have to wait until after November.
Photo Credit: Llima Orosa, Flickr Creative Commons