President Obama says he will push for major immigration legislation if he is re-elected.
Obama told Univision he would like to do immigration this year, but Republican opposition is too intense.
"I can promise that I will try to do it in the first year of my second term," Obama said.
"I want to try this year," he added. "The challenge we've got on immigration reform is very simple. I've got a majority of Democrats who are prepared to vote for it, and I've got no Republicans who are prepared to vote for it."
President Obama today at the Summit of the Americas


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By SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images



Obama supports what he calls a "comprehensive" immigration bill. It involves both tougher border security as well as a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the U.S. Republicans say the emphasis should be on border protection, and liken citizenship plans to amnesty for lawbreakers.
In the Univision interview, Obama took a swipe at one of those Republicans, likely election opponent Mitt Romney.
Said Obama: "We now have a Republican nominee who said that the Arizona laws are a model for the country ... these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption."
Republican Party spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said Obama "promised to tackle immigration reform in his first year and failed."
"From immigration to creating jobs and cutting the deficit, President Obama has failed to follow through on his promises to the American people showing his words are more about winning elections than anything else," she said.
Univision interviewed Obama in connection with this weekend's Summit of the Americas.
Topics included democracy promotion, drug trafficking, and race relations.


Obama to push immigration plan in 'first year' of new term

Sounds like the same thing he said in 2008, but maybe this time he has more flexibility.