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Obama mentions ag immigration briefly in new conference

President Barack Obama said today that he realizes the agriculture community is concerned about immigration reform.

During his first news conference since his re-election, Obama said that a lot of the provisions that would be needed in an immigration reform bill are already known, and mentioned among others that agricultural employers have “very specific concerns” about a workforce “that delivers food to our tables.”

Obama also said he wants a bill that will allow people who have been working hard in the United States to stay in the country legally, an issue that agricultural employers have said is important to them.

The president’s high level of support from Hispanic voters has increased the likelihood that both he and Republicans will work seriously on immigration reform in the next Congress.

Obama also said that the way that farmers around the country have been helping each other in the drought is one of the observations that inspire him to try to do a good job in his second term. Obama said he wants Congress to present him quickly with a bill that will make sure taxes do not go up on the middle class.