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Reflecting on his own struggles with immigration reform a decade ago, former Congressman David Dreier last week said, "The issue of immigration has become one of the ugliest out there."

Dreier, a California Republican who served 32 years in Congress before retiring in 2013, was reflecting on the blowback he faced after speaking out in favor of immigration reform proposed under the George W. Bush administration. Speaking at a roundtable at Claremont McKenna College in California, he recalled being subject to years of withering attacks from anti-immigration groups who viewed him as too soft on illegal immigrants.

Dreier said that he believes there is a broad consensus among Republicans in the Senate and the House to come to an agreement on reform, but he remained concerned that politics would get in the way.

Read More Immigration reform: Good or bad for the economy?

The president's expected executive action to delay deportations of more illegal immigrants is likely to act as a catalyst for those opposed to any compromise with the White House. As Republican strategist Mike Murphy noted on the same panel as Dreier, Democrats have a possible incentive for creating that ill will.

"In the rubble of defeat it is easy to get mean and cynical and political in a partisan situation," he said. "There are going to be voices in the White house saying. 'Mr. President, go do the executive order on immigrationRepublicans will overreact like crazy and it will do huge damage to the GOP."

And if it plays out that way, with each party postponing action on reform in the hope that it will do damage to the other party's hopes for 2016, the only thing we can count on over the next two years is more demagoguery, more deportations, and less certainty about U.S. immigration policy.

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Immigration reform confusion

People rally for comprehensive immigration reform, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, outside the White House in Washington. After the midterm elections immigration groups are pushing for executive action.

Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press

Enlarge photo

SALT LAKE CITY Now that Republicans have prevailed in the midterm elections, it's time for the GOP to pass legislation that shows its capacity to govern and keeps an eye on building the party's electoral base.

The best way for Republicans to demonstrate this capacity is to enact an immigration reform measure even in the lame duck session of Congress this year.

Let's start with some raw political calculations. In 2012, Hispanics favored Democrats over Republicans by 38 percentage points. In Tuesday's election, Republicans had narrowed that difference to 28 percentage points.

GOP Senate candidates in Florida, Colorado and Georgia did better than expected with Hispanic voters. Exit polls showed Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval a Republican of Mexican-American ancestry won re-election, and did so with 47 percent of the Hispanic vote.

The Republican Party needs to build these sorts of alliances to flourish with the next generation of voters. Indeed, the single most important factor in Mitt Romney's presidential loss in 2012 was his very poor showing with Hispanics. He received only 27 percent of their vote, down from George W. Bush's 44 percent in 2004, and even John McCain's 31 percent in 2008. Victory is not sustainable at that level when Latinos constitute up to of 10 percent of the electorate.

Building electoral coalitions solely around race is a shallow form of politics: It lacks a principled foundation. Yet it is impossible to ignore the hardship that our nation's immigration laws impose upon millions of Hispanics.

What's maddening about the debate over immigration is that too many Republicans abandon their beliefs in free markets, freedom of movement and in family stability. They give into fear, not reason, in supporting restrictions on immigration.

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Drew Clark: A vital opportunity for Republicans to act on immigration reform

WASHINGTON -- Immigration advocacy groups from across the country urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to act swiftly to "end the deportation enforcement machine" that is separating parents from their children.

In separate events, the groups called on Obama to move boldly "and without delay" on actions he first promised to take this summer if Congress failed to act on immigration reform. The president later pushed the deadline back to the end of the year, citing politics.

"The president took a major gamble in delaying executive action until after the election in an effort to save Democratic seats," said DREAM Act Coalition spokesman Cesar Vargas. "The gamble failed."

Latino voters "spurned Democrats" in key states like Colorado and Nevada, Vargas said, "either voting independent or staying home because of broken promises the president committed."

The meetings came just two days after elections that swept Republicans into control of both houses of Congress and numerous governors' mansions.

Against that backdrop, Obama said Wednesday that he still plans to take whatever actions are within his authority to "improve the functioning of our immigration system." But he reiterated his "profound preference" that Congress act first on immigration reform.

"Before the end of the year, we're going to take whatever lawful actions that I can that will allow us to surge additional resources to the border, where I think the vast majority of Americans have the deepest concern," he said.

Obama did not provide any further details about actions he might take. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Thursday warned that any action the president takes on his own would "poison the well" for legislation in this Congress.

"He's going to burn himself if he continues to go down this path," Boehner said. "The American people made it clear on Election Day. They want to get things done, and they don't want the president acting on a unilateral basis."

But advocates at a jam-packed Alliance for Citizenship news conference Thursday voiced optimism that the president would do just that.

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Advocates tell Obama it's time to keep promises on immigration reform

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Late Tuesday afternoon, Houston City Council candidate Trebor Gordon filed a First Amendment lawsuit challenging a discriminatory Houston ordinance that prevents city candidates from fundraising until February.

Gordon is a conservative candidate for Houston City Council at large. Houston is a great city because of the entrepreneurial culture of its citizens, among other things, Gordon said. But our current leadership has been chipping away at that spirit, overregulating and fleecing the taxpayers with a runaway budget. Im running to restore responsible leadership and let Houstonians run their own lives.

Im also compelled to address the deeply offensive posture Mayor Parker has taken towards people of faith in this city, harassing pastors with abusive subpoenas, Gordon continued. I have to address these issues now, because they are happening now. I cant wait until February to start my campaign.

Gordon will be on the ballot in the citys next general election in November 2015. Currently, section 18-35(a) of the Houston code of ordinances states that candidates may only solicit or receive contributions beginning in February of the election year and ending on March 4 of the year after the election. This provision prohibits fundraising for a full ten months of every two-year cycle, and candidates have only nine months to raise funds before Election Day.

Gordon is represented by political law attorney Jerad Najvar. There is no blackout period banning bad decisions by city officials for a part of every election cycle, Najvar said, and the government has no authority to tell Gordonor any other candidateto wait until February to start campaigning. City officials have access to free media all day long, and my client certainly has the right to fund his campaign and speak to the public. This waiting period serves only to insulate the city from organized opposition.

Najvar continued: The blackout period is facially unconstitutional. But it gets even worse, because people who currently hold non-city office are raising money right now, and everybody knows it will be transferred to their city campaign in February. This whole system is an absurd charade encouraging candidates to act like theyre running for something theyre not. While these shadow campaigns are proceeding aggressively, nonincumbents like Gordon have to sit on their hands. The First Amendment does not permit such nonsense.

The case is Gordon v. City of Houston, No. 14-CV-3146, currently pending in federal court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Gordon has asked for an immediate injunction, and is awaiting a hearing date from the court.

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Houston City Council candidate Trebor Gordon files First Amendment challenge to campaign blackout period

Irving, TX -- Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been honored as a First Amendment Award winner by The Radio Television Digital News Foundation.

Perry Sook, president and CEO of Nexstar successfully built Nexstar Broadcasting from two dozen stations to more than 100, while building and improving news operations across the ever-expanding group. This award honors professionals in local or network news who work in an off-air, management, largely behind-the-scenes capacity.

Our honorees are true champions of press freedom," said Chris Carl, Chairman of RTDNF. "Each of them have demonstrated outstanding support of the First Amendment through their work and their commitment to excellence." "We are proud to recognize the tireless dedication of this year's recipients, added Mike Cavender, RTDNF Executive Director. From the board room to the courtroom and from the White House Press Room to our living rooms, they embody the values of a free press in our society."

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt, 1000 H Street NW in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

Sook was recently inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

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Nexstar CEO Perry Sook Honored with First Amendment Service Award