A Democratic congressman who has led the drive for immigration reform warned President Obama on Monday that a "civil war" could break out among Democrats if he fails to announce amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, further stating that the mistake could cost the party's chances in the midterm elections since they would lose the support of Latino voters.
Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), a key figure and staunch advocate in the push for immigration reform on Capitol Hill, accused Obama of not keeping his promise to use executive authority to suspend deportations of undocumented migrants before the midterm elections, something that Obama has eventually shied away from, Breitbart reported.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Colorado on the eve of the elections, Gutiérrez said "the president's decision to delay action on immigration has sapped enthusiasm among Hispanic voters," according to The Guardian.
"This problem that you see, politically, is nothing in comparison to the civil war that will be created politically in the Democratic party should the president not be broad and generous in his use of prosecutorial discretion," Gutiérrez told the UK Guardian. "Because Latinos will not be deciding whether or not they vote, but whether or not they are in the Democratic party."
By breaking his promise to deal with immigration, Obama has created a "self-inflicted" wound on the Democrat party, Gutiérrez said, adding that this action might result in Latinos feeling alienated from the party.
"Unfortunately people are going to punish their very friends and their very allies who had nothing to do with the president's decision," Gutiérrez warned.
However, "while Gutiérrez is attempting to use the amnesty issue to shore up his own personal power base, some say that Hispanics aren't really that upset with Obama's failure to issue a blanket amnesty," according to Breitbart.
According to a recent Pew poll, Hispanics are split relatively evenly on whether Obama's immigration delay has dismayed them from supporting Democrat candidates. But lending support to Gutiérrez's claims, another poll revealed that 50 percent of Latinos say it doesn't matter which party controls the Senate after Tuesday's election.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Josh Earnest declined to comment Monday on when Obama would take action.
Recently, the Obama administration's quiet plan to implement an amnesty executive order issuing illegal aliens across the U.S. with millions of new ID cards and work authorization permits was deemed "un-American" by Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, according to an exclusive report by Breitbart.
