Americas

Home page

Americas

Obama: Immigration reform ’cannot pass without Republican votes’

01 July 2010 18:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. President Obama today called for a "practical, common sense" immigration system that will help the U.S. economy and maintain America’s immigrant tradition -- and he put the pressure on Republicans to get it through Congress, APA reports quoting usatoday.com website.
"Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes," Obama said in his first major immigration speech as president . "That is the political and mathematical reality."
Obama said his administration has already taken record-setting actions to strengthen the border, and also urged Congress to approve "a pathway to legal status" for the 11 million or so illegal immigrants who are already here.
Immigration has become "a source of fresh contention" in recent days because of the new Arizona law that gives police greater authority to question people’s citizenship, Obama said in his first major immigration speech as president. His administration is expected to file a lawsuit against Arizona, but the president did not discuss that plan.
Speaking to lawmakers, academics, and community leaders gathered at American University, Obama touted his plan by stressing the immeasurable contributions that immigrants have made to the United States, and the frequent discrimination they faced throughout history. "Immigrants have always helped to build and defend this country," Obama said.
Obama also put the onus on Republicans to pass a comprehensive immigration law, saying Congress cannot pass it without GOP votes. "That is the political and mathematical reality," he said.
While Obama’s plan would include a path to citizenship as well as tighter borders, its chances for passage in Congress don’t appear to be great.
Congressional Republicans, and some Democrats, said the government should focus on better law enforcement better moving on to such things as guest worker programs. In the meantime, lawmakers who are already grappling with new Wall Street regulations and an energy bill are also looking at congressional elections only four months from tomorrow.
Obama said political posturing on an emotional issue has delayed congressional action, and, as a result, "states like Arizona have started to take matters into their own hands."
Such an approach is understandable but "ill-conceived," Obama said, arguing that an immigration system requires a national approach rather than a "patchwork" of state laws, and puts too much of a burden on local law enforcement.
"These laws also have the potential of violating the rights of innocent American citizens and legal residents," Obama said, "making them subject to possible stops or questioning because of what they look like or how they sound."
At points in his speech, Obama criticized both sides of the immigration debate.
Some immigration rights groups all but encourage illegal migration, Obama said, though at least 11 million people are in fact breaking the law by not going through the citizenship process.
As for critics of "amnesty," Obama said it’s simply impossible to deport 11 million people, and doing so would disrupt communities and break up families, as undocumented immigrants have children who are U.S. citizens because they were born here.
The pathway to citizenship plan "also means we have a younger workforce and a faster growing economy than many of our competitors," Obama said. "And in an increasingly interconnected world, the diversity of our country is a powerful advantage in global competition."
Appearing on CNN this morning, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Cal., said current immigration law splits up families. She also said a more organized immigration system will help the U.S. economy.
"When the economy turns around, we’ll need more workers than the ones we have in the United States," she said. "So we have to get ready for that."
Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Cal., said the government should not reward people "for being here illegally" with "amnesty." He said employers should be forced to hire legal immigrants through a system known as "e-verify." Other issues, he said, should be addressed "after we’ve secured our borders and our workplace."