Obama to reassure Hispanics
President Obama will seek to reassure Latino elected officials and activists that hes committed to taking executive actions on immigration during a speech Thursdaynight to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
The remarks will be the president's first public address on immigration since his decision last month to put off any action until after the midterm elections.
Obamas decision disappointed Hispanic lawmakers and other activists pushing the White House to change deportation policies. Rep. Luis Gutirrez (D-Ill.) accused Obama of walking away from our values and our principles during an interview last month with ABC News.
Obama made the decision with an eye on November, hoping it would boost his partys chances of keeping its Senate majority. But it appears to have contributed to his falling approval ratings, particularly with base Democratic voters.
Its also stoked new fears among pro-immigration reform activists that the president might never take the type of sweeping steps they've been fighting for.
The administration has scrambled to calm those fears over the past few weeks, with top administration officials repeatedly insisting the president will act before the end of the year.
Vice President Biden hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month reception at his home late last month, and said at the event that Obama was absolutely committed to moving forward. Biden added that the president would move ahead with or without Congress and that if they don't get something done by the end of this year, the president's going to do it.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told Telemundo last weekend that Obama would make good on his promise to implement executive actions to address problems with the immigration system by the end of the year.
This is a promise the president will keep, Earnest said.
The president has tasked his team with looking at the law and determining what kind of executive authority he can use to try to address the problems of our broken immigration system, he said. They've come up with some good solutions. They will be finalized before the end of the year and the president will announce them before the end of the year.
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Obama to reassure Hispanics