Obama: From 'deporter in chief' to 'gracias'

**snip**

LAST GASP FOR LEGISLATION

Even as Obama raised the prospect of executive actions, he was holding out hope that Congress would still pass broader legislation. The Senate had passed a wide-ranging bill in June 2013 with bipartisan support, but the measure languished in the Republican-controlled House.

For months, Obama and House Speaker John Boehner talked privately about whether the House might take up immigration. Boehner suggested there was a narrow window of opportunity in early summer, after most Republican lawmakers were past their primaries.

Obama was willing to accept that timeline, but administration officials said he was skeptical that it was just the latest in what he saw as Boehner's stalling tactics.

A small handful of House Republican supporters of immigration reform, including Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, were indeed working on legislative options. But they struggled not only to get buy-in from reluctant Republicans, but also attention from a dubious White House.

Any last hopes for a legislative breakthrough were derailed the night of June 10, when Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader from Virginia, suffered a stunning primary defeat. Little-known challenger David Brat, an opponent of immigration reform, used Cantor's tepid support for immigration legislation against him, making other Republicans fearful of taking on the issue before the elections.

"That was the moment we realized immigration reform was dead, and we had to focus on Obama," said Kica Matos, an advocate who met with Obama throughout the process.

Around the same time, law enforcement agents were reporting a surge of undocumented minors from Central America arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. White House critics quickly pinned the blame on Obama's 2012 decision to defer deportations for some young people, saying it had encouraged more people to try to enter the U.S. illegally.

A House Republican leadership aide said the already slim chance for action in the House quickly "narrowed to the point of vanishing."

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-deporter-chief-gracias-092434890.html