Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said President Obama betrayed the “trust of some of the most vulnerable among us” when deciding to delay executive action on immigration until after the November election.
“Today, President Obama placed political calculations over the hopes and needs of immigrant communities,” Grijalva said in email.
{mosads}”He reneged on his own commitment in June to do what is right, and instead chose what is expedient, betraying the trust of some of the most vulnerable among us,” he added.
Grijalva said Obama’s pledge to act “soon” on the issue raised expectations and fostered “hope,” leading many to believe that action would be “imminent.”
Obama’s promise made in the Rose Garden on Friday also gave false hope to lawmakers, the Arizona lawmaker said.
“His actions also led many in Congress to act under the assumption that he would keep his word. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, and many others, provided recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security on actions that could be taken,” he added.
Grijalva is not the only Democrat disappointed by Obama’s decisions.
Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who faces a tough reelection race this year, sad the move would break up families trying to seek a better life.
“I’m disappointed that President Obama has now delayed action to help keep families together,” Udall said, adding that Republicans were to blame for blocking immigration reform legislation passed in the Senate.
Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.) also expressed concern over the delay, tweeting that he was “disappointed” by Obama’s “failure to take bold, immediate action.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, supported the president’s decision, placing heavy blame on Republicans.
“I know that the President is determined to act, and when he does I support a broad use of his authority to fix as much of our broken immigration system as he can through executive action,” Reid said in a statement. “After the President takes these initial steps, it will be up to Congress to finish the job and enact a permanent solution that fixes our immigration system once and for all.”
A White House official said early Saturday that Obama decided to postpone action on immigration until after the midterms due to the intense political season and Republican’s politicization of the issue.
The official said action at this time on immigration would hurt future efforts to pass meaningful reform in Congress.