President Obama abandons pledge, delays executive action on immigration

(Image credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

After promising to take executive action on immigration before the end of the summer, President Barack Obama decided on Friday to wait until after the November congressional elections, White House officials told The Associated Press.

Obama had pledged on June 30 to review recommendations for executive action and "adopt those recommendations without further delay," but partisan fighting following that promise sent Congress into its recess without any final bill. And while immigration advocacy groups called on Obama to act independently, officials said Obama made his decision based on concern from Democrats facing tough re-election races.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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