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Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

San Diego, California (CNN) -- Mr. President, the midterm elections are over. You're out of excuses. Your stalling has worn thin. And the hour is late.

It's time to keep your word and do what you promised to do before the end of summer use the executive power of the presidency to fix part of the immigration system and offer relief to millions of undocumented immigrants.

Of course, there's a lot of debate about what that "fix" would look like. You seem to be considering two specific goals: decreasing the number of deportations and strengthening border security.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

The former might mean giving temporary work permits to 1 or 2 million people. The latter is low-hanging fruit, since both Democrats and Republicans are always eager to throw money at the border by hiring more agents and building more walls.

The trouble is that activists want a lot more -- a total moratorium on deportations, and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program beyond its intended beneficiaries (undocumented young people brought as children) to include the parents of DACA recipients and parents with U.S.-born children. They want work permits for as many as 4 or 5 million people.

Frankly, as I've said before, I don't think any of this is going to happen. This week's election is over, but there's always another series of elections around the corner. Given that many Americans still resist the idea of rewarding illegal activity by conferring legal status to the undocumented, for other Democrats there would be a significant downside to using executive action. Who would worry? For one, probably Hillary Clinton, who is eager to run for president in 2016 but not eager to take the blame for executive action taken by the previous president.

Besides, Mr. President, let's look at what you told reporters in this week's press conference. You said, "I have no doubt that there will be some Republicans who are angered or frustrated by any executive action that I may take."

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Immigration reform: Obama, GOP, get on it (Opinion) - CNN.com

The House Majority Leader says it would be difficult for the GOP and President Obama to work together if he follows through with his plans to take executive action on immigration. (AP)

President Obama firmly rejected advice from top congressional Republicans on Friday that he delay his promised executive action on immigration reform, dismissing calls from critics inside and outside his party to allow Congress to debate the issue next year.

Over a two-hour lunch of Bibb lettuce salad, herb-crusted sea bass and pumpkin tart, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and their lieutenants warned Obama that his acting alone on immigration would spoil chances for bipartisan agreement on other issues in the new GOP-controlled Congress.

Seated with 12 top members of the House and Senate in the Old Family Dining Room, Obama shot back that he intended to proceed, saying that he had already waited almost two years for congressional action on immigration. He added that his decision should not upend chances for cooperation on unrelated matters, according to aides familiar with the exchange.

The new focus on Obamas plans to revamp the immigration system by executive fiat came as the president is reportedly reviewing proposals to allow as many as 5million illegal immigrants to stay in the United States at least temporarily, according to several people familiar with his plans. He is expected to announce his intentions after returning from a visit to China, Burma and Australia, either this month or in early December, said those familiar with the subject, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Obamas immigration pledge became political grist for Republican congressional candidates, who opposed his decision to act unilaterally. And after a dismal Democratic showing in the midterm elections Tuesday, David Axelrod, a former Obama adviser who remains close to the president, suggested via Twitter that Obama should shelve his plans to take action in hopes of an up or down vote in the House.

But congressional Democrats and immigration-reform activists insisted that Obama will proceed. Some have expressed regret that he has not already acted.

He should do it. ... Just get it done, said Rep. Joe Garcia (D), a first-term lawmaker who lost reelection on Tuesday in his South Florida district.

Garcia lost to Carlos Curbelo, a Miami-Dade County School Board member who snatched back a seat that Republicans lost two years ago. In an interview, Garcia said that instead of settling the immigration issue by taking action, Obama had allowed a sustained, continuous conversation among Democrats to fester, exposing intraparty divisions.

Republicans not only were bad on immigration at the beginning of the year, they were bad during the year, they were bad at the end of the year, Garcia said. At the same time, were being woodshopped for not moving on the executive order, and thats why he should have just done it.

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White House: Obama will act on immigration despite GOP warnings to hold off

By Eric Bradner, CNN

updated 7:01 PM EST, Fri November 7, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner warned President Barack Obama in person Friday that signing an executive order overhauling immigration laws would spoil their chances of cooperating on other issues in the future.

Boehner, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other congressional leaders met with Obama for a two-hour lunch at the White House, where Boehner repeated the warning he'd issued after Republicans seized control of both chambers in Tuesday's midterm elections.

Sources said immigration reform was the focus of a 30-minute discussion during the lunch.

"The speaker warned that unilateral action by the president on executive amnesty will erase any chances of doing immigration reform and will also make it harder for Congress and the White House to work together successfully on other areas where there might otherwise be common ground," Boehner's office said of the lunch.

He and other congressional leaders didn't talk to reporters as they left the White House. But the White House said in a readout of the lunch that Obama "reiterated his commitment to taking action on immigration reform in light of the House's inability to pass a comprehensive bill."

David Axelrod tweets Obama: Get House to vote on immigration

Obama had already repeated his pledge to sign an executive order on immigration in the coming months during a news conference this week -- and Boehner and McConnell separately said doing so would "poison the well" and complicate the White House's chances of getting Congress on board with any of its other goals.

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Priebus: Obama immigration orders 'throwing a barrel of kerosene'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama could get "burned" if he uses executive action to help undocumented immigrants.

There are a good number of immigration activists who feel burned that he hasn't done it already.

While they were pleased to hear Obama renew his vow Wednesday that despite Republicans' takeover of the Senate he still intends to use his executive authority to help fix the nation's broken immigration system, the message from immigrants' rights groups to the White House remains the same: They'll believe it when they see it.

Advocates of immigration reform want the president to provide deportation relief to millions of undocumented immigrants since Congress has so far failed to pass a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws. It is hard to believe that a new Republican Senate and emboldened Republican majority in the House are likely to pass a bill that would pass muster with immigration activists.

That leaves Obama and his promised executive action as immigration activists' only hope. They hope he'll keep his word.

After promising on June 30 to announce the so-called executive actions he would take by summer's end, the White House delayed the move until after the mid-term election. Activists say they are tired of waiting and are planning a series of rallies, marches, conferences and other events to urge the president not to allow politics to delay action.

"Details matter and promises have been made before," said Cristina Jimenez, managing director for immigrants' rights group United We Dream. "Our campaign to protect our communities will continue until the policy is changed in a way that includes our parents, families and neighbors."

At risk is not just the president's standing with the Latino community. Activists say this is an issue for all Democrats -- including potential 2016 candidates -- who some believe have taken Latino voters for granted. In a November poll by Latino Decisions, two-thirds of Latino voters said immigration was either the most important or one of the most important issues driving their vote this year and 60 percent of Latino registered voters who were not planning to vote said the delay in executive action made them less enthusiastic about the president and the Democratic Party. An October survey by Pew Research found that 55 percent of Latino registered voters disapproved of the way the Obama administration has handled the issue of deportations.

"The president's legacy is at stake," said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

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Immigration activists hope they don't get burned by Obama

Obama promises to move forward with immigration reform before year end
A day after losing a great deal of power to the Republican party in Tuesday #39;s midterm elections, United States president Barack Obama promised to move forward with immigration reforms by the...

By: teleSUR English

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Obama promises to move forward with immigration reform before year end - Video