Thread: Obama: Committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform

Jun 19, 2009

Obama: 'Committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform'
01:51 PM

Add another complicated legislative challenge to the long list President Obama is giving himself: As he works to overhaul the nation's health care system and economic regulatory system, the president is promising to rewrite the nation's immigration laws too.

At a Hispanic prayer breakfast today, the president reiterated, in emphatic terms, his support for a sweeping new immigration measure -- that sounds a lot like the one that produced major political gridlock last year in the Senate, despite the support of such powerful and politically disparate leaders as then-president George W. Bush, GOP presidential nominee-to-be John McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

"I'm committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform as president of the United States," Obama said at this morning's Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. That includes a path to citizenship for millions who are now living in the shadows, the president made clear.

"We must clarify the status of millions who are here illegally, many who have put down roots," he said. "For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules. That is the fair, practical, and promising way forward and that's what I'm committed to passing as president of the United States."

Obama's statement is being viewed as a politically significant signal because a planned White House summit on immigration has been twice postponed. It's now on for Thursday, when the president plans to meet with congressional leaders about immigration.

Immigrant rights advocates are "Having the president firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform puts pressure on Congress to act," Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement.

USA TODAY religion writer Cathy Lynn Grossman sent the Oval a note to point out that Obama's being selective about his prayer breakfasts: Last month, the president skipped the National Day of Prayer ceremony that Bush, his predecessor in the Oval Office favored. At the Hispanic Prayer breakfast, Obama urged the audience to respect the fact "that this is a nation of Christians and Muslims and Jews and Hindus and non-believers.

"It is this freedom that allows faith to flourish within our borders," Obama said. "It is this freedom that makes our nation stronger."
----------------------------------------------------------------
You can post a comment on the USA TODAY Online site at this link:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... 68289269/1

Video:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-160140.html

RELATED

Obama: Immigration overhaul is essential

You can post a comment on the USA TODAY Online site at this link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington ... tion_N.htm

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-913349.html#913349


RELATED

Gibbs: Not enough votes in Congress for immigration reform

by Michael O'Brien
June 19, 2009

The votes aren't there for the Obama administration to achieve its desired immigration reform,

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-160222.html

Obama: 'Committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform'

I didn't bother reading this but I will say that obama's got his head where the sun don't shine.

And we are committed NOT

This article has more than 700 comments,

You can post a comment on the USA TODAY Online site at this link:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... 68289269/1

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

This article has more than 700 comments,

You can post a comment on the USA TODAY Online site at this link:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... 68289269/1

880 comments now. kinda hard finding someone who supports it

Lawmakers will gather at the White House next week for a working session on immigration reform, a meeting that has been highly anticipated by Latino leaders eager for President Obama to honor his campaign promise to put millions of undocumented workers on a "pathway to citizenship." But many Democrats are now concluding that they may well not have the muscle to pass such a controversial measure -- at least not immediately, and possibly not until after the 2010 midterm election.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 9385.story

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-160237.html