After successfully staring down congressional Republicans in the shutdown-debt ceiling fight, President Obama's pivot to immigration is a move with almost no downside risk.
Which makes it perfect as the next vehicle for the president to use to cause congressional Republicans major indigestion.
Obama said last year before being reelected that he hoped the Republican "fever" of opposition to him would break during his second term. But if the just completed standoff is any indication, that temperature is still spiking.
The immediate shift to immigration could be Dr. Obama's way of trying to effect a cure.
What the White House and immigration advocates working with it hope is that the political loss Republicans suffered in the recent fiscal fight will make GOP leaders desperate to show that the party can govern.
"One can hear the debate within the GOP which is, 'Do we continue confrontational tactics that make us look bad? Or do we find a way to pragmatically govern and work more cooperatively with Democrats to do so?' " said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an immigration advocacy group.
Even during the shutdown, groups backing the overhaul of the nation's immigration laws never hit the pause button. They continued to stage demonstrations in Washington and elsewhere.
They were supported by House Democrats who, amidst the shutdown and fears of the debt default, introduced an immigration overhaul bill in a news conference that drew less attention than it might have otherwise because of approaching fiscal Armageddon.
Sharry explained the strategy: "We just want to be ready if [House Republicans] decide that it's in their political self-interest to govern responsibly and, when necessary work with Democrats to pass legislation, that immigration reform will be first up. So we think we've got a shot. The central question is whether we're dealing with a rational political party or not."
Obama was certainly acting as though the House Republicans would view it in their self-interest when he said on Thursday:
"The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do. And it's sitting there waiting for the House to pass it," Obama said, referring to a Senate-passed immigration bill. "Now, if the House has ideas on how to improve the Senate bill, let's hear them. Let's start the negotiations. But let's not leave this problem to keep festering for another year, or two years, or three years. This can and should get done by the end of this year."