Less than a month after President Obama announced that he would delay using his executive authority to reform immigration laws, there appears to be some evidence that the decision is doing exactly what he hoped to avoid–hurting Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections, according to the Washington Post. With so many congressional and gubernatorial candidates locked in close races this year, Democrats need all the support they can manage.
Activist in key states are reporting that it is increasingly difficult to register Latino voter who would vote for Democrats because of frustration with President Obama. “The president has not helped us,” said activist Leo Murrieta, who is working to register Latino voters in Colorado. “People are disappointed. They want action, they wanted activity, they wanted movement.”
Appearing Thursday night at a gala hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, President Obama said he will use his executive authority to revamp the nation’s immigration policy sometime between Election Day and before the end of the year. “If anybody wants to know where my heart is or whether I want to have this fight, let me put those questions to rest right now: I am not going to give up on this fight until its gets done,” he said. The president also urged Hispanic lawmakers and activists in the crowd to work to ensure record Latino voter turnout this year.
Obama was already suffering from gradual disenchantment among Hispanics before he made his decision last month to delay action on immigration. In a Washington Post-ABS News poll last July, Obama had a 68 percent approval rating among Hispanics for his handling of immigration. By September, that number had dropped to 42 percent. In national Gallup polls, he is at 48 percent among Hispanics now.
