Obama Says It’s Up to Republicans to Fix Broken Immigration Laws
By Michael C. Bender and Julie Bykowicz - Nov 25, 2013
President Barack Obama urged the Republican-led U.S. House to pass changes to immigration law, focusing on an issue that may benefit his party as the flawed rollout of his health-care law hurts his popularity.
“It’s up to Republicans in the House to decide if we can move forward as a country on this bill,” Obama said in a speech today in San Francisco, calling the nation’s immigration system “broken.”
Sixty-three percent of Americans favor providing a way for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants to become citizens, provided they meet certain requirements, according to a poll released today by the Public Religion Research Institute. That number, which includes majorities of both Republicans and Democrats, matches a March survey from the Washington-based group that studies public opinion.
The Democratic-led Senate in June passed with bipartisan support an immigration measure that included a path to citizenship. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said Nov. 13 that he has “no intention” of considering the comprehensive Senate bill and instead preferred a piecemeal approach.
Obama said he’s “hopeful” about making progress on the measure, and would back Boehner’s step-by-step approach “as long as all the pieces get done.”
MORE...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-25/obama-says-it-s-up-to-republicans-to-fix-broken-immigration-laws.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
