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With hopes of passing an immigration reform bill fading, President Obama is said to be planning sweeping reforms to immigration policy, writes Assistant Professor of Government Brendan Nyhan in a New York Times Upshot blog. But why the president would do this is unclear, since it could provoke a backlash in the midterm elections, Nyhan writes.

“Mr. Obama might hope to mobilize the Democratic base or boost Hispanic turnout, but midterm electorates are skewed toward an older, whiter group of voters who are likely to view a legalization plan less favorably,” he writes.

Read the full opinion piece, published 8/8/14 by The New York Times.