Obama to wait to act on immigration until after Nov. elections

As the clock ticks down to the November midterm elections, President Barack Obama has decided that he will not try to push through any reforms of immigration policy without the assistance of Congress, because it may damage the chances for Democrats to retain control of the Senate.

The New York Times reports that one of the policies Obama is considering is the expansion of a program that grants undocumented residents work permits to live and work in the United States legally for an indefinite period of time.

Obama has the authority to slightly modify existing immigration policies or issue executive orders that specify how certain laws should be executed. For example, in 2012, Obama issued an executive order that told federal lawyers people brought to the United States as children, who have not violated any laws, should be the lowest priority for deportation proceedings.

These orders have become a political lightning rod of late. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has just announced a lawsuit against the President claiming that he is abusing his constitutional authority by relying on such orders to circumvent Congress.

The lawsuit has been filed despite the fact that Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush each issued dozens of more executive orders by the same point in their presidencies.

The House has allocated $350,000 to pay for the lawsuit.

While Obama is able to take minor steps, he cannot overhaul the immigration system and create a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million people currently working and residing in the United States without Congressional authorization

The Times says the White House has decided not to issue executive orders until after the elections because the Democrats fear doing so will motivate the Republican base to turn out in larger numbers, and increase their donations to the party.