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Despite GOP threats to cut government funding or take legal action, some Republicans may be relieved that President Barack Obamais moving to address the nations immigration problems.

Executive action allows Republicans to have the best of both worlds: progress on immigration policy without having to cast a vote that would anger conservatives opposed to leniency for illegal immigrants.

With this action the president has chosen to deliberately sabotage any chance of enacting bipartisan reforms that he claims to seek, House Speaker John Boehnersaid.

But the House had more than a year to act on the immigration legislation that the Senate passed in June 2013 with 14 Republican votes. Waiting for House action now could be like waiting for Godot.

Republican Senate leaderMitch McConnellon Thursday invoked the midterm results. The American people sent a message. They said they want to see us working together, he said. What they didnt say they wanted to see was the president sidestepping the very representatives they just elected.

A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll confirms this assessment. A majority of Americans believe Congress should set policy for the country, and 48% said they oppose creating legal status for immigrants or the president using executive action to do so.

Seventy-four percent of Americans say they would favor a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants if they were required to pay a fine, pass a background check, and pay back taxes; not all of these caveats were included in the presidential plan.

A standoff over immigration now would confirm what most Americans feared after the midterms: that the president and Congress would be unable to work together even though more than 60% of Americans say thats what they want to see happen.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the Republicans who voted to pass immigration legislation, cautioned his colleagues this week not to overreact because then the focus would be on them instead of on the president.

This is the tightrope Republican leaders must walk in the coming months. Many conservative supporters vehemently oppose presidential action, but other Republicans, especially business and factory owners who employ immigrants both legal and illegal, have long asked for clarity on immigration issues. Those Republicans would be pleased to see some action.And, of course, Hispanic voters will be watching.

Link:
Republican Relief at Obamas Action on Immigration?