White House officials are locked in an intense debate over whether President Barack Obama should announce a plan to defer deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants before Election Day — mindful that whichever choice they make could be tagged as the reason that Democrats lost the Senate…

But it could hurt Democrats in the four most competitive Senate races. In Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana and North Carolina, Latinos comprise only a fraction of the voting population and the Democratic incumbents want the president to disappear for the next two months.

If Obama waits until after November and still loses the Senate, immigration reform advocates will argue that had the president acted, the Democratic base would have been motivated to turn out for the party. Many Latinos are already frustrated with Obama’s handling of immigration through the years. Another delay risks a backlash from the community that could damage the ticket — although some Democrats argue it would be short-lived because Obama could quickly win Latinos back with the executive order.