President Obama is considering circumventing the deadlock in Congress on immigration reform by taking unilateral action.

President Obama said Wednesday that he is reviewing his authority to act unilaterally on issues without Congress, specifically on the issues of immigration and tax reform.

Immigration reform stymied in both houses last week before Congress went on summer recess, leaving the growing crisis of thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the border unrectified. The Senate failed to pass a bill because of partisan gridlock, and the House passed a bill that Obama called "extreme and unworkable."

The proposed House bill, which received only one Democratic vote, would appropriate $694 million -- far less than the $3.7 billion Obama asked from Congress -- to remedy the border crisis, as well as amend a 2008 anti-trafficking law to make it easier to deport unaccompanied minors. The bill includes $35 million to pay governors to deploy the National Guard at the border, and a separate bill aims to block the administration from going through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which delays the deportation of children who arrived in the U.S. prior to 2007.

To evade the congressional impasse, Obama is considering extending temporary protection for millions of undocumented immigrants, including the parents of U.S.-born children and others who have lived in the U.S. for many years.

"My preference would be an actual comprehensive immigration law, and we already have a bipartisan law that would solve a whole bunch of these problems," Obama said, according to the Washington Post. "Until that happens, I'm going to have to make choices. That's what I was elected to do."

Obama said Wednesday that he is also considering taking unilateral action to stop American companies from reincorporating overseas to avoid billions in taxes, according to Fox News Latino.

Yet, he said he would prefer to sign a law regarding tax exemptions to keep the practice of companies reincorporating in foreign countries from spreading further. However, it is unlikely that Congress will produce an agreed-upon bill before November's midterm elections.

"The American people don't want me just standing around twiddling my thumbs and waiting for Congress to get something done," Obama said.

While the actions will give Democrats a boost prior to the 2016 elections, it will also create a major issue with Republicans, who will take the opportunity to say that Obama is overextending his power.

Obama has been criticized by Republicans for acting unilaterally on a number of issues, including raising the minimum wage for federal contractors and delaying implementing certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act.

Yet, he said he is willing to risk butting heads with the GOP, particularly on the issue of corporate taxes.

"We're reviewing all of our options," Obama said at the end of a summit with African leaders. "The lost revenue to Treasury means it has got to be made up somewhere, and that typically is going to be a bunch of hardworking Americans who either pay through higher taxes themselves or through reduced services."

In regard to immigration, Obama can ensure, through congressional action with unilateral measures, that thousands of Central American children who have crossed into the U.S. are treated humanely and given due process in immigration courts.

Realistically, he could also push through a plan to screen children in Honduras, which is where many of the unaccompanied minors come from, to see if they can qualify for asylum.

Most of the unaccompanied child migrants come from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, which are countries plagued by poor economies and rampant gang violence.

In addition, Obama could transfer enforcement resources to the border from the interior if Congress fails to appropriate enough funds to handle the surge in immigrant minors.

However, Obama said he is not opposed to taking unilateral action to ensure the safety and due process of immigrants, as well as corporate fiscal responsibility, if Congress fails to take action.

"That's what I think the American people expect me to do," he said.

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