Obama immigration push continues
May 14, 2014 | 05:08 PM
The Obama administration is continuing to push the House of Representatives to pass immigration reform legislation this year, even as prospects for any bill there remain murky at best.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a telephone news conference today with an Illinois farmers to stress the importance of immigrant workers to that state’s economy.
Vilsack’s call was with Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Gueber and Mark Erdman, an Illinois dairy farmer.
This news conference followed a recent call to reporters with a Virginia farmer.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said at a meeting of law enforcement officials that he still wants the House to bring up immigration bills this year, even though he realizes it gets harder as Election Day approaches.
“The immigration system that we have right now makes it harder, not easier, for law enforcement agencies to do their jobs,” Obama said.
“It makes it harder for law enforcement to know when dangerous people cross our borders. It makes it harder for business owners who play by the rules to compete when they’re undercut by those who would exploit workers in a shadow economy. And it makes it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs when large segments of the community are afraid to report crimes or serve as witnesses because they fear the consequences for themselves or their families.”
Obama noted that law enforcement officers are part of a coalition pushing Congress to finalize an immigration bill this year.
“I hope all of you keep it up because it’s making a difference,” he said.
“A number of Republicans are realizing that blocking immigration reform is not an option, and that's the good news. And most Americans, the majority of Americans, know this is the right thing to do. Public opinion is on our side on this. Unfortunately, we've got a handful of House Republicans right now who are blocking going ahead and letting legislation get to the floor.”
“To their credit, I think Speaker [John] Boehner [R-Ohio] and some of the other leaders there do believe that immigration reform is the right thing, but they’ve got to have a political space that allows them to go ahead and get it through their caucus and get it done,” Obama said.
“I've said to them, if they’ve got ideas I'm happy to talk to them. We’re not hell-bent on making sure that every letter of what’s in the Senate bill is exactly what ultimately lands on my desk for signature, but there are some core principles that we've got to get done.
“We’ve got to have stronger border security. We’ve got to make sure that we are dealing with companies that are not doing the right thing by workers. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got an improved legal immigration system, because a lot of folks are getting pushed into the illegal system because the waits are so long through the legal process. And we’ve got to make sure that there’s a way for people to earn some pathway to citizenship.”
The president also pointed out that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the evangelical Christian community and the business community are pushing for immigration reform.
“We've got this narrow window,” Obama said. “The closer we get to the midterm elections the harder it is to get things done around here. Now, I know it’s hard to believe that things could get harder —- that this place could get a little more dysfunctional. But it’s just very hard right before an election. So we’ve got maybe a window of two, three months to get the ball rolling in the House of Representatives. And your voices are going to be absolutely critical to that effort.”
America’s Voice, a pro-immigration lobby, said Monday that the House has to act before July 4 if immigration legislation is to be passed this year.
The Senate has passed a comprehensive immigration bill but House Republican leaders have indicated they would prefer to consider a series of bills.
Boehner, in a speech in San Antonio on Monday, continued to give mixed signals on the prospects for immigration legislation. He said he would like to bring immigration bills to the floor but that House members do not trust Obama to enforce the law.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a telephone news conference today with an Illinois farmers to stress the importance of immigrant workers to that state’s economy.
Vilsack’s call was with Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Gueber and Mark Erdman, an Illinois dairy farmer.
This news conference followed a recent call to reporters with a Virginia farmer.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said at a meeting of law enforcement officials that he still wants the House to bring up immigration bills this year, even though he realizes it gets harder as Election Day approaches.
“The immigration system that we have right now makes it harder, not easier, for law enforcement agencies to do their jobs,” Obama said.
“It makes it harder for law enforcement to know when dangerous people cross our borders. It makes it harder for business owners who play by the rules to compete when they’re undercut by those who would exploit workers in a shadow economy. And it makes it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs when large segments of the community are afraid to report crimes or serve as witnesses because they fear the consequences for themselves or their families.”
Obama noted that law enforcement officers are part of a coalition pushing Congress to finalize an immigration bill this year.
“I hope all of you keep it up because it’s making a difference,” he said.
“A number of Republicans are realizing that blocking immigration reform is not an option, and that's the good news. And most Americans, the majority of Americans, know this is the right thing to do. Public opinion is on our side on this. Unfortunately, we've got a handful of House Republicans right now who are blocking going ahead and letting legislation get to the floor.”
“To their credit, I think Speaker [John] Boehner [R-Ohio] and some of the other leaders there do believe that immigration reform is the right thing, but they’ve got to have a political space that allows them to go ahead and get it through their caucus and get it done,” Obama said.
“I've said to them, if they’ve got ideas I'm happy to talk to them. We’re not hell-bent on making sure that every letter of what’s in the Senate bill is exactly what ultimately lands on my desk for signature, but there are some core principles that we've got to get done.
“We’ve got to have stronger border security. We’ve got to make sure that we are dealing with companies that are not doing the right thing by workers. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got an improved legal immigration system, because a lot of folks are getting pushed into the illegal system because the waits are so long through the legal process. And we’ve got to make sure that there’s a way for people to earn some pathway to citizenship.”
The president also pointed out that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the evangelical Christian community and the business community are pushing for immigration reform.
“We've got this narrow window,” Obama said. “The closer we get to the midterm elections the harder it is to get things done around here. Now, I know it’s hard to believe that things could get harder —- that this place could get a little more dysfunctional. But it’s just very hard right before an election. So we’ve got maybe a window of two, three months to get the ball rolling in the House of Representatives. And your voices are going to be absolutely critical to that effort.”
America’s Voice, a pro-immigration lobby, said Monday that the House has to act before July 4 if immigration legislation is to be passed this year.
The Senate has passed a comprehensive immigration bill but House Republican leaders have indicated they would prefer to consider a series of bills.
Boehner, in a speech in San Antonio on Monday, continued to give mixed signals on the prospects for immigration legislation. He said he would like to bring immigration bills to the floor but that House members do not trust Obama to enforce the law.
