As President Obama prepared to announce a new temporary amnesty for illegal immigrants, congressional Democratic leaders said Wednesday they back him, and said Republicans have themselves to blame for pushing the White House into the move.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Mr. Obama warned them for months that if they didn’t act, he would.

“I’m glad,” Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor.

He said the GOP could pass the bill the Senate cleared more than a year ago, which would head off Mr. Obama’s action. But he said it’s been 510 days, and that’s too long for illegal immigrants in danger of deportation to wait.

The Nevada Democrat said Mr. Obama has the legal authority to bypass Congress under the laws Congress has written and under the president’s inherent powers of discretion.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has also defended Mr. Obama’s plans, saying the path was paved by Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, who each had their immigration services halt deportations for family members of those legalized under the 1986 amnesty.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014...xecutive-amnes/