Obama to Meet with Hispanic Congressional Caucus to Discuss Immigration Reform

By Elizabeth Llorente

Published May 03, 2011
President Obama plans to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday to discuss the flaws in the immigration system and how to address them.

The White House schedule for Tuesday says the meeting will be about "the importance of fixing our nation's broken immigration system to meet our 21st century economic and national security needs so that America can win the future."
This would be the third meeting in as many weeks that the president has held with a variety of leaders to talk about immigration, which political experts say could emerge as one of the most divisive topics in the 2012 election campaign.

Two weeks ago, Obama met with a group of mainly advocates of an immigration reform plan that would tighten enforcement as well as provide a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria. He told them he remains committed to reforming immigration.

Last week Obama summoned Latino celebrities to the White House, where he told them that people with high profiles such as they could elevate the discussion on immigration.

Latino leaders across the country have been increasingly critical of Obama's failure to deliver on his promise during his presidential campaign that there would be a comprehensive immigration reform measure in his first year in office.

The president says that he cannot make significant changes to the U.S. immigration system without the support of Republicans in Congress.

But members of Hispanic Congressional Caucus, made up mostly of Democrats, argue that the president does have tools at his disposal for approaching some aspects of immigration in a less hard-line manner.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Charles Gonzalez, D-Tex., who is chairman of the caucus, both say that Obama can use the powers of his office to halt the deportation of parents of U.S.-born children, as well as of undocumented children who were brought here by their parents.

“The CHC has previously suggested to the White House that they create a broad coalition of business leaders, clergy and community leaders who recognize the need for Congress to act,â€