President Barack Obama is expected to announce his long-anticipated executive actions on immigration this Friday in Las Vegas, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The plan was first reported Wednesday on Twitter by John Harwood of the New York Times and Laura Meckler of the Wall Street Journal. White House aides didn’t immediately provide any official scheduling updates.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told Univision this week that Obama’s announcement could come “as soon as this week.”
Obama’s proposals are expected to temporarily shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation, including parents of children who are American citizens or legal residents. The actions would follow in the footsteps of similar executive moves by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush to let certain undocumented immigrants stay in the country and work on provisional legal status.
The president initially announced in July he’ll take action on his own, saying House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had told him he’d continue to block reform for the remainder of the year. Under pressure from Senate Democrats not to drop a bombshell before the midterms, he revealed in September he would delay the announcement until after the congressional election.
The delay sparked intense anger from Hispanic and immigrant-rights advocates, who are pushing Obama to take a big and bold action. Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, are telegraphing a major backlash that could include a government shutdown standoff or a lawsuit.
Dear Republicans - Come here I have something you want to hear. I know exactly how you can stop the “tyrannical” Obama right in his tracks. DO YOUR DAMN JOBS! And get the House to pass the senates BIPARTISAN immigration bill. Talk about taking the wind right out of Obama sails man this would surely do it.
A. All the Sunday talk shows are now clamoring to get Ted Cruz for this Sunday or next. So predictable.
B. How many of the Sunday talk shows will even mention all the executive actions Bush and Reagan took which were far more than the Presidents? (None, of course.)
Under pressure from Senate Democrats not to drop a bombshell before the midterms…
Yeah, and look at how well that turned out for them.
Yes, Obama should have done it before the election. The Democrats in red states who lost still would have lost, but Hispanics would have been more motivated to turn out. The share of the Hispanic vote that the GOP got in Texas actually went up substantially.
This should be good for a few exploding heads.