Going It Alone: Obama Readies Executive Action on Mexico-US Border Crisis David Nakamura - The Washington Post
go to original August 3, 2014

President Obama slammed House Republicans late last week for not passing a border crisis bill before the August recess, saying that they are forcing him to take executive action, which is the very thing they are suing him for. (White House/NewsNow)

President Obama is preparing to announce new measures that would potentially allow millions of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States without fear of deportation, a politically explosive decision that could jolt Washington just weeks before the midterm elections, according to people who have been in touch with the White House.

Administration officials have told allies in private meetings that both the current surge of Central American children crossing the border and Congress’s failure this year to pass a broader immigration overhaul have propelled the president toward taking action on his own by summer’s end.

Obama aides have discussed a range of options that could provide legal protections and work permits to a significant portion of the nation’s more than 11 million undocumented residents, said Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates who have met recently with White House officials. Ideas under consideration could include temporary relief for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are closely related to U.S. citizens or those who have lived in the country a certain number of years — a population that advocates say could reach as high as 5 million.

Some Senate Democrats running for reelection in traditionally conservative states, such as Arkansas and Louisiana, have expressed misgivings about Obama going too far on his immigration order, fearing it will not play well among voters in their states.

But supporters of executive action said the president has little to lose by embracing a broad legalization program that could become a signature achievement in a second term defined by legislative gridlock on Capitol Hill.

Read the rest at The Washington Post

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