Obama Faces Immigration Reform Hurdles From His Own Party

With November elections looming large, many Senate Democrats facing tough re-election battles are openly questioning whether President Obama should use his executive powers to reform immigration law.

If Obama decides to go that route before the November elections, Democrats in vulnerable positions may find themselves dealing with the thorny two-prong issue of immigration reform and the president’s use of his executive powers to attain that reform, just before the elections.

It is a hot seat Democratic Senate candidates are increasingly seeking to avoid at all costs. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark), who also faces a tough re-election battle, said in a statement that while he is frustrated with Washington partisanship on the issue, it “doesn’t give the president carte blanche authority to sidestep Congress when he doesn’t get his way.”

This seeming turn of affairs has immigration advocacy groups concerned. A coalition of these groups wrote a letter to Congressional Democrats arguing that immigrant families shouldn’t be forced to wait for reform after the November elections. In a not so veiled threat, the letter said that Latino and other immigrant communities will view any delay or attempts to dilute administrative changes as a betrayal, and that the consequences would be “serious and lasting.”

For his part, Obama has shown little interest in waiting. Some Republican consultants believe that any executive action over immigration will be a shot of adrenaline for a segment of the electorate that already disapproves of his actions. Other Democratic consultants believe that presidential action could give a political boost to Democrats from an electorate tired of a gridlocked Washington.

The immigration law attorneys at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo in New Jersey are following this political battle with great interest. Will the president act on immigration reform without Congress? How much can he actually do? We will know shortly.

If you have immigration law questions and are looking for an experienced immigration law firm that looks after your interests, call us at (844) 288-7978 or contact us online.