Originally Posted by originalgabe

"Trying to argue that we need to legalize people who are illegally in the country when the country is losing jobs at one of the fastest rates in the past 20 years is a really tough sell," said Steven Camarota, research director at the pro-enforcement Center for Immigration Studies think-tank.

Opinion makers say other courses of action are open to Obama to keep his promises on immigration reform and reassure Latino voters.

"There are steps the new president can take to show Latino voters he means to take on the issue," the Los Angeles Times wrote in an editorial.

These include stopping workplace raids that have rounded up thousands of mostly Hispanic employees at factories in Iowa and Mississippi, among other states, and building cross-party support for the so-called Dream Act, allowing high-achieving, undocumented high-school students to seek permanent residency, the newspaper said.