Justin Sink, The Hill, October 9, 2014

Republicans will commit political suicide if they fail to pass immigration reform, President Obama said Thursday during a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles.

“It’s anybody’s guess how Republicans are thinking about this,” Obama said. “If they were thinking long-term politically, it is suicide for them not to do this.”

He argued that the demographics of the country were changing and that Hispanics were becoming a larger part of the population. If Republicans fail to pass immigration reform, Obama said, a generation could conclude that the party didn’t care about them.

At the same time, Obama said, “the Tea Party and others who often express virulent” opposition to immigration reform are making Republican lawmakers reluctant.

Still, the president predicted that immigration reform would pass Congress before the end of his presidency.

“Congress will see the light because the logic of it is too compelling,” Obama said. “I’m going to keep fighting on this.”

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