President Barack Obama will delay action on immigration until after the congressional midterm elections on November 4.
According to Saturday news reports, the decision is aimed at helping some embattled Democrats avoid the highly-politicized issue in their re-election campaigns.
White House officials told The Associated Press and other media that Obama still planned to act before the end of the year. The AP said the officials discussed the decision on condition of anonymity before the change is officially announced.
Immigration has become a highly controversial in the United States in recent years, as an influx of migrants, mainly from Central and South America, has taxed border states’ social infrastructure and angered politicians, particularly Republican.
An estimated 11 million people are believed to be living in the United States illegally.
John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said the decision to delay "smacks of raw politics." He said there is never a right time for the president to sidestep Congress and "declare amnesty by executive action."
With legislation to address the crisis tied up in a gridlocked Congress, Obama has been promising to take executive action. His decision to wait, however, will likely upset immigration advocates, while offering relief to some Democrats in vulnerable Senate seats.
Some polls have indicated that Republicans could deepen their hold on the House in the November elections, and potentially gain control of the Senate as well.
On Friday, Obama signaled that a significant policy shift was forthcoming on immigration reform, but sidestepped questions about whether he would wait until after November.
Obama told reporters during a news conference in Wales that his plan would include more enforcement for illegal immigration and steps to encourage legal immigration, and would address the politically contentious question of how to deal fairly with millions of undocumented people who have lived in the United States for years.
He also said he wanted to give undocumented immigrants who have been living in America for years "some path so they can start paying taxes, pay a fine and learn English, and be able to not look over their shoulder but be legal since they've been living here for quite some time,” he said.
Reform advocates like Frank Sharry, executive director of the group America's Voice, expressed opposition to the delay, saying he was "bitterly disappointed" in Obama and Senate Democrats.
Obama "has broken yet another promise to the Latino community," said Erika Andiola and Cesar Vargas, directors of the DREAM Action Coalition, in a statement.