With House Republicans bucking pressure from Democrats and senior members of the GOP to consider a comprehensive piece of reform legislation, President Barack Obama turned to Spanish-language television to reiterate his support for a reform which is overwhelmingly popular among Latinos. Reporters for Univision and Telemundo stations in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Dallas were granted "behind-the-scenes access to the White House and the president's top advisors", according to the White House. In the interviews, the president struck a note of concession in saying he didn't think immigration reform would pass by his August deadline, but bore down on the topic of the path to citizenship for the undocumented.
"[The August deadline] was originally my hope and my goal," Obama told Telemundo's Denver affiliate. "But the House Republicans I think still have to process this issue and discuss it further, and hopefully, I think, still hear from constituents, from businesses to labor, to evangelical Christians who all are supporting immigration reform."
RELATED: Over 4.4 Million Legal Immigrants Stuck In Green Card Backlog
But during his interview with Univision's New York affiliate, Obama indicated that the pathway to citizenship was not up for compromise, saying it "needs to be part of the bill".
"That's the whole idea of immigration reform," he said.
The president was even more emphatic in his interview with Telemundo's Denver affiliate, saying "It does not make sense to me, if we're going to make this once-in-a-generation effort to finally fix this system, to leave the status of 11 million people or so unresolved."
RELATED: Immigrant Asylum Seekers On The Rise In US; Why Are So Many Central Americans Fleeing Home?
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has refused to introduce the Senate's comprehensive bill, saying he doesn't have the majority of his party's approval. Instead, the House has decided to keep on considering single-issue immigration bills which reflect the priorities of its most conservative members. Those representatives have protested most bitterly against the Senate bill's offer of a path to citizenship for the undocumented, an idea seen as "amnesty" by many constituents in their home districts.
RELATED: US To Resume Flying Of Deportees To Mexico City; What Did They Do With Them Before?
The House has been considering alternatives to the Senate's plan for citizenship, which the Congressional Budget Office says would make some 8 million undocumented immigrants eligible for legal status. One proposal would offer citizenship to DREAMers, or those brought to the US illegally as children.
The president dismissed the House's piecemeal approach to immigration reform, saying he thought it should be done as a "complete package" and quipping that the House has been "struggling with a lot of legislation lately".
"The danger of doing it in pieces is that a lot of groups want different things," he said.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.