--- title: Obama To Delay Immigration Actions Until After Midterms description: President Barack Obama has decided to delay taking controversial executive actions on immigration reform until after the November midterms. canonical: https://time.com/3281851/obama-immigration-midterms-elections/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-06T14:42:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:01:32.390Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama To Delay Immigration Actions Until After Midterms og:description: President Barack Obama has decided to delay taking controversial executive actions on immigration reform until after the November midterms. og:url: https://time.com/3281851/obama-immigration-midterms-elections/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2335346839dd76f3/6986a241e53aba4e384d44a9/h_51555533.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: US President Barack Obama returns from NATO summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama To Delay Immigration Actions Until After Midterms twitter:description: President Barack Obama has decided to delay taking controversial executive actions on immigration reform until after the November midterms. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2335346839dd76f3/6986a241e53aba4e384d44a9/h_51555533.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama To Delay Immigration Actions Until After Midterms > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5f8a4b12-0c9d-4b49-adc8-512bb152ab39&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Protesters Block Buses Of Undocumented Immigrants in California [Watch (HLS stream): Protesters Block Buses Of Undocumented Immigrants in California](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PIOOsDTq.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2014-07-02. Controversy turns to conflict after border patrol agents try to transport undocumented immigrants — some of them children — in California. Local outlets report the protesters managed to turn three buses carrying about 140 immigrants around._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 6, 2014 2:42 PM UTC Obama misses self-set end of summer deadline for immigration reform. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 6, 2014 2:42 PM UTC President Barack Obama has decided to delay taking controversial executive actions on immigration reform until after the November midterm elections, a White House official confirmed to TIME. The decision is sure to anger immigration reform activists who have become a vocal component of the Democratic base, while taking the pressure off several vulnerable Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to the policy move as the President’s party struggles to hold onto control of Congress’ upper chamber. “The reality the President has had to weigh is that we’re in the midst of the political season, and because of the Republicans’ extreme politicization of this issue, the President believes it would be harmful to the policy itself and to the long-term prospects for comprehensive immigration reform to announce administrative action before the elections,” the official said, promising that Obama would act before the end of the year. The Associated Press first reported news of the delay. The political quagmire was largely one of the President’s own creation, having decided at the end of June that congressional action on immigration reform, which had been legislatively stalled for a year, would not be passed before November. In a hastily-scheduled Rose Garden address, Obama announced on June 30 that he had tasked Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder with providing him a review of ways he could act around Congress on immigration reform. “I expect their recommendations before the end of summer and I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay,” Obama said. By raising advocates’ expectations, Obama has assured himself a political backlash from his base, while promising executive action in the lame-duck session later this year may not be enough to isolate Democratic candidates from Republican attacks. Among the actions Obama was planning was extending the so-called “deferred action” program, which currently delays removal proceedings for those who were brought to the United States illegally as children, to millions of adults who immigrated illegally. But in recent weeks White House officials have been hinting that the President would not be acting before the midterm elections, drawing ire from advocates. On Friday, Obama told reporters at a press conference in Wales that he had just begun to receive recommendations from Johnson and Holder and planned to review them on the plane back to Washington. “I’ll be making an announcement soon,” he promised. “I want to be very clear: My intention is, in the absence of action by Congress, I’m going to do what I can do within the legal constraints of my office—because it’s the right thing to do for the country,” Obama added. Cesar Vargas, co-Director of the DREAM Action Coalition, an immigration reform advocacy group, issued a statement Friday calling on Obama to live up to his commitments. “We need your leadership Mr. President,” he said. “We need you to step up where Congress has failed. No more word games. Voters, specially Latino voters, want to see immediate executive action. This is a promise you cannot break to our families, again.” The White House official highlighted Republicans trying to “exploit the humanitarian situation at the Rio Grande Valley” this summer, when thousands of unaccompanied minors crossed into the United States from Mexico, as an example of the politicization of the issue. Obama reached a decision on delaying his actions on Friday while returning to Washington, and began informing lawmakers and advocates. “The President has had many conversations and consultations throughout this process – including with his Cabinet, members of Congress, stakeholders, and advocates on this issue,” the official said. “The President is confident in his authority to act, and he will before the end of the year. But again, nothing will replace Congress acting on comprehensive immigration reform and the President will keep pressing Congress to act.” ## Transcript [00:00] Controversy turns to conflict after Border Patrol agents [00:03] tried to transport undocumented immigrants, some of [00:06] them children, in California. U. S. A ., U. S. A .! [00:11] Protesters gathering in Murietta got in front of and [00:14] managed to stop 3 busses carrying about 140 [00:18] immigrants. Well, police tried to clear the road to take [00:20] the immigrants to a nearby U. S. border patrol facility. [00:24] The Murietta police chief said, buses turned around [00:26] before police received backup. They should have [00:29] blocked him at the border. KGTV reports protestors [00:32] and counter- protestors supporting the immigrants [00:35] were arguing well into the night and well past when the [00:38] buses left. The station also reports several protestors [00:41] yelled racial slurs at each other. The anger highlighted [00:44] a growing trend this year as the White House has said [00:47] more and more children are crossing the U. S. border [00:50] into Texas without their parents. Many of those [00:53] children crossing aren't from Mexico. They come [00:55] instead from countries like Guatemala or Honduras [00:58] where the children and their parents fear violence. The [01:01] White House estimates as many as 80, 000 children [01:04] will cross into the U. S. without their guardians this [01:07] year. We now have an actual humanitarian crisis on the [01:09] border that only underscores the need to drop the [01:12] politics and fix our immigration system once and for [01:15] all. That followed a trip by Vice President Biden to [01:18] Guatemala in late June to encourage parents not to [01:21] send their children to the U. S. through smugglers. The [01:24] Washington Post obtained this undercover video and [01:26] posted the video to its website, showing an [01:29] overcrowded border patrol station in South Texas with [01:32] sick people behind yellow tape. That video did not [01:35] show a date. President Obama has asked for $ 2 [01:37] billion in emergency funds to help deal with the huge [01:41] influx of Central American women and children coming [01:44] into the country illegally. The White House says border [01:46] patrol agents apprehended 52, 000 unaccompanied [01:50] children and 39, 000 women with children so far this [01:53] year, a large increase from 2013. 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