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Less than a month after President Obama announced he would delay using his executive authority to reform immigration laws, there is evidence that the decision is doing exactly what he hoped to avoid: hurting Democrats.

Activists in key states say it is increasingly difficult to register would-be Latino voters who would vote for Democrats because of unhappiness over the decision. Poll numbers for Obama and Democrats have also dropped farther among Hispanics than the population at large. One group has even launched a campaign against four Democratic senators who backed a GOP proposal to bar Obama from taking any executive action on immigration.

The president has not helped us, said activist Leo Murietta, 28, who is working to register Latino voters in Colorado for Mi Familia Vota. People are disappointed. They wanted action, they wanted activity, they wanted movement.

With so many congressional and gubernatorial candidates locked in close races this year, Democrats cant afford signs of complacency or sagging support. But Murietta and others believe that only action not promises of action will help spur increased turnout among Hispanics with just five weeks until Election Day.

Obama is scheduled to speak Thursday night at a gala hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus his first appearance in front of the group in three years. The address is expected to include a mention of his commitment to immigration reform and a vow to fix as much of our immigration system as he can on his own, according to a senior administration official familiar with his plans.

But outside the gala, dozens of protesters plan to picket Obama and the lawmakers who invited him, alleging a brutal betrayal of Latinos, according to organizers. And inside the room, Obama will be among the lawmakers most upset by his decision to wait.

We would not wait until after November if it was an issue affecting the gay and lesbian community, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a critic of Obamas work on immigration, said at the conference Wednesday afternoon. If this was about womens reproductive rights, if this was about the minimum wage, if this was about a series of other issues, the Democratic Party would come together.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) said hes found widespread frustration. A lot of people understand theres a political calculation, but those same people understand theres a lot of people suffering because he didn't act, he said in an interview.

Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who is under consideration as Obamas next attorney general, sought to reassure conference attendees Wednesday. But his message fell flat.

The question of executive action, my friends, is a when? question, Perez said. Immigration, he added later, is all about his values and his leadership. And thats why I love working for this president.

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Growing evidence that Obamas decision to wait on immigration is hurting Democrats