Obama vows immigration action this year

But Obama appeared in no mood for waiting. He had already angered Latinos and immigration advocacy groups this fall when he delayed executive action until after the election.

"What I'm not going to do is just wait," he said. "I think it's fair to say I've shown a lot of patience."

Immigration advocates made clear that their patience, too, was at an end.

"The election is over. Act boldly to bring relief to the millions facing deportation and family separation," Janet Murguia, head of National Council of La Raza, said at a news conference Wednesday. "The Hispanic community has waited too long and expects you to fulfill your promise."

White House officials say Obama, who is traveling to Asia and Australia next week, would not take any action until late November at the earliest and could wait until December.

Advocates in touch with the White House expect Obama to expand a 2-year-old program that deferred deportations for more than 500,000 immigrants brought here illegally as minors, and made them eligible for work permits. He is also expected to take steps to make more business visas available.

Advocates say White House officials are debating whether to require a certain term of residency in the U.S. - say 10 years - and whether eligibility criteria would include the parents of immigrants who received deportation deferrals under Obama, or only people who have children who are U.S. citizens because they were born here.

Such decisions could determine whether the program affects as many as 3 million people or more, or fewer.