Democrats in the House of Representatives have been prompted to start urging the president to take executive action on the issue of immigration reform by the midterm elections. The call to action, which is also aimed at the Hispanic community, was posted on Univision.com on Thursday.
“[Just] as presidents before him, President Obama has broad authority to make our immigration system better meet the needs of our country and reflect our shared values,” says an opinion editorial piece written by Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Luis Gutierrez and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “And every administration since President Dwight D Eisenhower has used executive authority to do just that.”
Earlier this year President Obama declared that he would take executive action on immigration reform in the face of the continuing unwillingness of Congress to deal with the issue. Pressure from the Democrats forced him to postpone any such action until after the midterm elections this month, however, out of fear of a voter backlash. The delays have frustrated many liberal Democrats and particularly those in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who want the deportation of undocumented immigrants to be halted immediately.
The delays have also resulted in a lowering of the level of support for the Democrats among Hispanic voters ‒ so much so that Democrats in the House of Representatives have begun campaigning for the president to take immediate action and to stop delaying immigration reform. The House members want Obama to stop deporting undocumented immigrants from the United States and to enable people waiting for green cards and foreign students to remain in the country for longer.