President Barack Obama reportedly ignored congressional Republicans' warning to refrain from taking executive action that would stem deportations or allow a flood of new immigrants into the country while rejecting the GOP's offer to work on immigration reform in January, multiple media outlets reported said Friday.
At a two-hour post-midterm election lunch and meeting, which included top House and Senate congressional leaders from both parties, House Speaker John Boehner asserted the GOP's opposition to executive actions on immigration issues and asked the president to hold back on amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, Reuters reported.
"The speaker warned that unilateral action by the president on executive amnesty will erase any chances of doing immigration reform and will also make it harder for Congress and the White House to work together successfully on other areas where there might otherwise be common ground," a spokesman told the newspaper.
However, Obama allegedly dismissed the GOP majority's offer and told Republicans that he planned to move ahead unless the GOP passed a bill, the Washington Examiner reports.
"The president was both courteous and firm in asserting his prerogatives as president on immigration and other issues." a Democratic congressional source said. "While Republicans were encouraging the president not to take action, the president repeatedly called on the Republican leaders to legislate on immigration."
At one point, Vice President Joe Biden asked Boehner how long the GOP would need to pass the bill, according to an unnamed congressional source. "February 15, March 15?" the vice president asked Boehner, leading Obama to stop the exchange, the source added.
A Democratic congressional source disputed that account, telling the news service, "At no time did the President cut off the Vice President," the aide said. "The president and the vice president both agreed that is long overdue for House Republicans to act on immigration."
Specifically, the economy and jobs were identified as the GOP's top legislative priorities in the new Congress, with Boehner asking Obama to let Republicans work on reforming and modernizing immigration early in the new session, Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso told Reuters.
Following the meeting, Maryland Democrat Rep. Steny Hoyer told CNN about Obama's decision to move ahead with immigration reform.
"Families are being wrenched apart, children are being left without a parent or parents, and that is unacceptable. But he also made it very clear that if the Congress acted, that would be the law, that would be the preferable option that he wants."
