More Senate Democrats are pressuring President Obama to delay his promised executive action on immigration, Politico reported on Friday. “Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) wants Obama to wait until after November. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he has ‘concerns about executive action.’ Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, said it would be a ‘mistake’ for the president to do anything significant.”
“Until now, few Democrats have been willing to break publicly with Obama over his vow to issue an executive order on immigration. Democratic incumbents in this year’s most competitive Senate races have already voiced concern, but the calls from others to hold off on acting suggests Democrats are growing even more anxious about the decision and its potential to upend the fight for control of the Senate.
White House officials have been locked in an intense debate over whether Obama should announce a program to defer deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants before Election Day. A delay would mark a major reversal from June, when the president stood in the Rose Garden and pledged to issue an order by the end of the summer, and it would infuriate the Hispanic community.”
The division and political concern among Senate Democrats was reflected by Majority Leader Harry Reid’s noncommittal comment Thursday about the timing of an amnesty edict: “The decision is the president’s. I’m confident he’s going to do something. He has to decide when he’s going to do it.”
Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/obama-immigration-order-110624.html
Posted 9/6/14 by Andrew Lewis