Leading The News
Obama to face critical immigration test early
By Silla Brush
Posted: 12/31/08 09:05 AM [ET]

President-elect Obama will likely make several tough decisions on immigration policy during his first few months in office, even if he postpones wide-ranging reform until later in his first term.

Obama will be under pressure from interest groups to review or drop several administrative policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration, which President Bush enacted after he failed in 2007 to persuade lawmakers to pass broad legislation that would have put millions of immigrants on a path to citizenship.

“I think immigration is shaping up to be an issue that he is going to face a consensus of pressure,â€