During a press conference in Germany today, President Obama admitted that he personally made the decision to put his actions on immigration on hold while the legality of his actions are being considered in court.
“I made a decision, which I think is the right one, that we should not accept applications till the legal status of this is clarified,” Obama said, admitting that although he was “frustrated” with the judge blocking his legislation, he didn’t want to put illegal immigrants at a disadvantage.
“Until we get clarity there, I don’t want to bring people in, have them apply, and jump through a lot of hoops only to have it deferred and delayed further,” he said.
According to the Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security suspended plans to staff up an 11-story building with up to 3,100 employees just outside Washington D.C. to handle the influx of applications for legal status from illegal immigrants.
Obama said that the administration was being “as aggressive as we can” with the legal action, but adds “the United States is a government of laws and separations of power.”
“Obviously I’m frustrated,” he said, adding that he was “absolutely convinced” that it was within his legal authority.
He challenged Congress to revisit legal status for illegal immigrants, admitting that it would probably be a heated issue in the upcoming presidential campaign.
“My hope is … some quiet conversations start back up again particularly, in the Republican party about the short sighted approach that they are taking when it comes to immigration,” Obama said.
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