Republican lawmakers have voiced their opposition to President Barack Obama using his executive authority to ease the immigration crisis, but former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said further actions by the commander-in-chief could result new tensions.

During a radio show, Gingrich said if Obama was to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants that it may bring the "final destruction" of the Democratic Party.

"If you look at the latest polls on immigration, they are Obama's weakest issue. The country clearly has rallied around the idea that the border can't be under control when you have as many people coming in as there are," said Gingrich. "The idea that the President would unconstitutionally, and I think clearly illegally, by stroke of the pen change the world, I think most Americans will find very unacceptable."

Gingrich, who ran for president in 2012, added that executive action by Obama could put Democrats facing reelection in the Senate at risk. The former House Speaker guessed that "within days of coming back" from the current summer recess, Republicans in the House of Representatives will pass legislation addressing the immigration crisis. He questioned how Democratic senators will align themselves for November's midterm elections -- whether they will side with Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-NV, and "get defeated" or vote against fellow Democrats.

"I think [Obama] may be creating a civil war in his own party if he does this (grant amnesty). And you've noticed at least two Democratic Senators have already come out and said he should not do this. So I think there's a growing panic on their side that this could be a disaster," Gingrich said on The Laura Ingraham Show.

"The election of 2014 is a referendum," said Gingrich.

According to Gingrich, if Obama thinks millions of people should come to the U.S. via the use of his pen, or executive action, then a Republican House and Senate can "eliminate" Obama's capacity to issue such executive action come January.

As Latin Post reported, current House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, stated he will not accept the Senate's immigration bill or take up "any fashion" of the proposed legislation.

"Nor will we accept any attempt to add any other comprehensive immigration reform bill or anything like it, including the DREAM Act, to the House's targeted legislation, which is meant to fix the actual problems causing the border crisis," said Boehner.

The House had two opportunities to pass a $659 million bill to fund border security and policy changes. The first vote was abandoned after GOP leaders withdrew the bill due to lack of support within Republicans. Following the bill's withdrawal, Boehner said Obama "can and should" do "without the need for congressional action" to secure the southern U.S. border.

The House would eventually pass the bill a day later and vote to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that has stopped the deportation of nearly 500,000 undocumented youths created by Obama in 2012.

The two House bills are not expected to pass in the Senate. The House and Senate will reconvene in September.

Meanwhile, Obama is waiting on options and recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice on how to address the immigration and border crisis. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama could issue an executive action based on the recommendations in September.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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