Obama Defends Immigration Delay

President Obama fired back at criticisms of his decision to push back a much-anticipated executive action on immigration. Immigration reform advocates, as well as Republicans, have accused the president of stalling to avoid hurting Democrats in the midterm elections.

Obama instead pointed to the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border where thousands of undocumented children remain in limbo at a detention center.

“The truth of the matter is that the politics did shift midsummer because of that problem,” the president told "Meet The Press."

Obama said that he intends to pursue the executive action as soon as his administration can get "our ducks in a row."

"I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country,” he told NBC. “But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children, and why it's necessary.”

Democrats and Republicans have traded blame for months on Congress' failure to find a solution to the border crisis.

Watch more of Obama's interview in the video above.