On a day when both sides tried to herald a
new era of potential compromise, immigration stood out not only as a
single obstacle to bipartisanship but as a sign that the hard-fought
election and the heavy Democratic losses had not pushed partisan
sparring aside.
"I have no doubt that there will be some Republicans who are angered
or frustrated by any executive action that I may take," Obama said in a
post-election news conference. "Those are folks, I just have to say, who
are also deeply opposed to immigration reform, in any form, and blocked
the House from being able to pass a bipartisan bill."He cast his executive actions as an inducement for Republicans to pass their own immigration bill.
"The best way, if folks are serious about getting immigration reform done, is going ahead and passing a bill and getting it to my desk. And then the executive actions that I take go away," he said.
Republicans led by McConnell pledged to use their newfound majorities to stop him.
"I hope he won't do that, because I do think it poisons the well for the opportunity to address a very important domestic issue," McConnell said in Louisville, Kentucky, as he celebrated a victory in his own Senate race and the GOP's capture of the Senate.
Some on the right said executive action on
immigration could even be grounds for impeachment. Several House
Republicans said Obama would make it very difficult to cooperate on
other issues if he acts on immigration.
"Him moving ahead like that, I think he's completely tone deaf to what happened last night," said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn.And a half-dozen GOP senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas, wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Wednesday urging him to quickly pass legislation to block Obama from taking executive action. Otherwise, the senators warned, they'll use "all procedural means necessary" to resolve what they called a constitutional crisis of Obama's making.
But Obama appeared in no mood for waiting. He had already angered Latinos and immigration advocacy groups this fall when he delayed executive action until after the election.
"What I'm not going to do is just wait," he said. "I think it's fair to say I've shown a lot of patience."
Immigration advocates made clear that their patience, too, was at an end.
"The election is over. Act boldly to bring relief to the millions facing deportation and family separation," Janet Murguia, head of National Council of La Raza, said at a news conference Wednesday. "The Hispanic community has waited too long and expects you to fulfill your promise."
White House officials say Obama, who is traveling to Asia and Australia next week, would not take any action until late November at the earliest and could wait until December.
Advocates in touch with the White House
expect Obama to expand a 2-year-old program that deferred deportations
for more than 500,000 immigrants brought here illegally as minors, and
made them eligible for work permits. He is also expected to take steps
to make more business visas available.
Advocates say White House officials are debating whether to require a
certain term of residency in the U.S. — say 10 years — and whether
eligibility criteria would include the parents of immigrants who
received deportation deferrals under Obama, or only people who have
children who are U.S. citizens because they were born here.Such decisions could determine whether the program affects as many as 3 million people or more, or fewer.
In an interview, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., a leading immigration advocate, said anything fewer than 5 million to 8 million people would be insufficient. He and others argue that Obama's actions will infuriate Republicans no matter how many are affected.
"Half a loaf is going to be unsatisfactory to everyone," Gutierrez said.
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