President Obama has announced that he is delaying taking executive action on the issue of immigration reform until the Congressional actions have been concluded in November, a White House official told CBS News on Saturday, with the president blaming the Republicans for their “extreme politicization of the issue”.
“The reality the President has had to weigh is that we’re in the midst of the political season, and because of the Republicans’ extreme politicization of this issue, the President believes it would be harmful to the policy itself and to the long-term prospects for comprehensive immigration reform to announce administrative action before the elections,” the official declared, adding that Obama still wants to instigate immigration reform in a sustainable manner before the end of 2014.
Obama decided to postpone taking executive action to achieve immigration reform on Friday while returning from a NATO summit in the United Kingdom and began getting in touch with congressional leaders to inform them of his decision from Air Force One. The president has always maintained that there is no real substitute for Congress finally taking action on the issue and has continued to urge Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to vote on the bill, which was passed by the Senate last year.
Obama’s comments were slammed by House speaker John Boehner, who says the president has no right to take executive action on US immigration reform at any time.