Obama will act on immigration despite GOP warnings to hold off- White House

WASHINGTON (TIP): Leaving no one in doubt about his stout resolve to act on immigration, President Obama firmly rejected advice from top congressional Republicans on Friday, November 7 that he delay his promised executive action on immigration reform to allow Congress to debate the issue next year.

The new focus on Obama’s plans to revamp the immigration system by executive fiat came as the president is reportedly reviewing proposals to allow as many as 5 million illegal immigrants to stay in the United States at least temporarily, according to several people familiar with his plans.He is expected to announce his intentions after returning from a visit to China, Burma and Australia, either this month or in early December, said those familiar with the subject,who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that Obama “is very focused on” immigration and that Republicans can do only one thing to stop him.”They can allow that common-sense, bipartisan bill from the Senate to come to the floor of the House of Representatives,” he said. “And if the House passes that Senate bill, the president won’t take executive action.Maybe the republic will be saved.Maybe the ego of the House Republicans will not be bruised.

Certainly, the United States of America would benefit significantly from them taking that step.”Earnest was referring to a 2013 Senate bill passed with bipartisan support that would make sweeping changes to the nation’s immigration and border-security system. But Boehner and House Republicans rejected the measure.Boehner did not rule out introducing immigration legislation if Obama decided not to act. “This immigration issue’s become a political football over the last 10 years or more. It’s just time to deal with it,” he told reporters this week.

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