“At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!” President Donald Trump announced via his favorite platform over the weekend.

Last week, Trump declared he would ramp up ICE raids to catch and deport illegal aliens. Predictably, Democrats went apoplectic, ranging from decrying border “concentration camps” to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declaring deportation “an act of utter malice and bigotry.”

So what’s the real reason for Trump’s delay? Two possibilities have been suggested: First, Acting ICE Director Mark Morgan says the leaked raid details may have endangered the lives of Border Patrol agents. Second, Pelosi reportedly telephoned the president to beg for a delay. More likely, she offered him emergency border funding.

We’d also offer a third option: Democrats have not only stubbornly refused to offer any plan for addressing the border crisis, they have actively invited the invasion and blocked Trump’s every effort to address it. Trump is calling their bluff, and he’s doing so just in time for the gaggle of 382 Democrat presidential candidates to take the debate stage later this week. Trump has promised to live tweet the debates, and we don’t doubt he’ll enjoy highlighting their lack of an immigration plan. He knows all too well that the Democrats’ only agenda is to obstruct him, so he’s letting them sweat for two weeks while he waits. Every time he can demonstrate that Democrats are blocking needed action at the border, it will help him politically.

In the meantime, regular deportations will continue, as will the flood of illegals crossing the southern border.