oBAMA IMMIGRANT

What is to become of an estimated 12 million people living illegallyin the United States, some of whom have U.S.-born children? For years, Congresshas debated the issue but failed to pass an immigration reform bill that couldbe signed into law. In June, a visibly-frustrated President Obama said his patience hadrun out. “I ambeginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on myown. If Congress will not do its job, at least we can do ours,” said Obama. The president renewed the promise while traveling in Asia last week,and said Republicans have only themselves to blame if he acts on his own. “I am alwaysinterested in negotiating a legislative solution to the immigration problem,and that the minute they pass a bill that I can sign that fixes our immigrationsystem, then any executive actions I take are replaced. So they have theability to fix the system. What they don’t have the ability to do is to expectme to stand by with a broken system in perpetuity," said Obama. Reaction on Capitol Hill has been swift. Among those stronglyopposing unilateral action by the president is Republican House Speaker JohnBoehner. “We are goingto fight the president tooth and nail if he continues own this path. This isthe wrong way to govern. This is exactly what the American people said onelection day they do not want. And, so all options are on the table,” saidBoehner. That view was echoed by the Senate's top Republican, MitchMcConnell, who will become majority leader in January. "I had maybe naively hoped the president would look at theresults of the election and decide to come to the political center and do somebusiness with us. I still hope he does at some point, but the early signs arenot good," said McConnell. Any executive action the president takes could be challenged incourt. Additionally, Speaker Boehner is not ruling out a delay in funding theU.S. government, a move that could provoke a shutdown of non-essential federaloperations next month. But some members of the president’s Democratic Party say executiveaction on immigration reform is better than the status quo, whatever thepolitical costs. Among those who say Obama should act on his own is CongressmanLuis Gutierrez. “What we wantthe president to do is to act big, act bold, act broadly, and act soon,” saidGutierrez. Republicans say an executive order on immigration would poisonrelations between Congress and the White House for Obama’s final two years inoffice. That is a risk the president appears willing to take.