Barack Obama defends decision to delay immigration action
Washington: President Barack Obama says that the surge of immigrant children entering the US illegally changed the politics surrounding the issue of immigration and led him to put off a pledge to use executive action that could have shielded millions of people from deportation.
By Obama’s own calculations, politics did play a role in his decision. In his remarks to NBC, which were to be aired on Saturday, he said a partisan fight in July over how to address an influx of unaccompanied minors at the border had created the impression that there was an immigration crisis and thus a volatile climate for taking the measures he had promised to take.
Reflecting the passion behind the threat of deportations, immigration advocacy groups that have criticised Republicans for not passing an immigration overhaul instantly turned their anger on Obama.
Cristina Jimenez, managing director of United We Dream, said the decision was “another slap to the face of the Latino and immigrant community.”
“We are bitterly disappointed in the president and we are bitterly disappointed in the Senate Democrats,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “We advocates didn’t make the reform promise; we just made the mistake of believing it. The president and Senate Democrats have chosen politics over people, the status quo over solving real problems.”
Two White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to be quoted by name, said Obama made the decision to delay taking action as he returned Friday to Washington from a NATO summit in Wales.
He called a few allies from Air Force One to inform them of his decision, the officials said, and made more calls from the White House on Saturday.
Obama went to the White House Rose Garden on June 30 to angrily declare that House Speaker John Boehner had informed him that the Republican-controlled House would not be taking up any measures to overhaul the immigration system. As a result, he said, he had directed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to give him recommendations for executive action by the end of summer.
