Barack Obama, the US president, says he is looking for immigration reform to be completed within six months, adding “now is the time” for action, Aljazeera reports.
“I can guarantee that I will put everything I have behind it,” Obama said in an interview with Telemundo, one of two he conducted on Wednesday with Spanish-language television networks.
Obama said a deal should be attainable this year, but he wants one even sooner. He said that politics, not technical issues, are standing in the way.
A group of Senators, both Democrats and Republicans, has agreed on a framework for comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country.
In the Republican-controlled House, another group of lawmakers is working on its own proposal.
Obama is promoting his own set of principles similar to those included in the Senate plan, but he has not been directly involved in the Senate’s negotiations – perhaps a sign he recognises that too much involvement by the Democratic president could make it harder for Republican lawmakers to sign on.
If Congress delays, he said, “I’ve got a bill drafted, we’ve got language” ready to offer Capitol Hill.
Obama offered his own principles on immigration at an appearance in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
He pushed for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants that is faster than the one the Senate group proposed.
Leave a Reply