White House admits Obama delayed immigration reform on purpose because of midterms

White House admits Obama delayed immigration reform on purpose because of midterms
(Image credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

In response to whether executive action on immigration would be "more politically stable" after the midterm elections, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday during a press briefing that had President Obama acted on immigration prior to Election Day, Republican candidates would have made the immigration issue "more central to their campaign." Earnest said the GOP would likely cite opposition to amnesty as a reason for their success, which Earnest said is a storyline neither the president nor anyone in the White House "wanted to contribute to."

National Review points out that the reason White House officials originally gave for the delay in immigration reform was that "the Republicans' extreme politicization of this issue" led Obama to believe "it would be harmful to the policy itself" and not sustainable.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Teresa Mull