President Barack Obama said opposition to an immigration overhaul could destroy the Republican Party.
The president said the party risks losing support from an entire generation of immigrants.
Speaking to a group of young entrepreneurs in Santa Monica, California, the president said the GOP faces pressure from the tea party and others who, in his words, "oftentimes express anti-immigrant sentiment."
He also told his mostly high-tech audience that the U.S. needs an influx of highly skilled immigrants to keep the American workforce young.
He said that because House Republicans have not acted, he will act on his own to reduce deportations and increase work permits for immigrants. The President has been criticized for putting any executive action off until after November's election.