WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has delayed his immigration reforms until after the midterm elections in November this year, the White House said on Saturday.

On Friday, President Obama laid out an ambitious plan for reforming America’s broken immigration system. He said he had already received recommendations from the Homeland Security and Justice departments for executive action he could implement without Congress.

But a day later, the White House said the reforms have been delayed after lawmakers from his Democratic Party warned that the plan could seriously damage their chances of reelections in November.

A White House official told reporters on Saturday that the president “wants to do this in a way that … would not commit to action before the end of the year.”

The official blamed the Republicans for blocking the passage of much-needed immigration reforms.

Mr Obama told a news briefing on Friday that the proposed reforms would encourage legal immigration and give million of illegal immigrants a path to legalizing their status.

But legal experts, appearing in various US TV shows, said it was not clear if the president could implement such sweeping reforms without congressional approval.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2014