WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama was making a fresh push for overhauling U.S. immigration policy Thursday, despite dim prospects for progress on an issue that he had promised would be a top priority.
Obama was to lay out his rationale in a speech, his first as president on the issue. He wasn’t expected to announce any new proposals or policy changes, but rather explain why he thinks a comprehensive approach is the only way to fix what he and others say is a system badly in need of repair.
Immigration reform has received little attention since Obama took office last year, as he has been dealing with other major issues such the Gulf oil spill and overhauling the country’s health care system and financial regulations. Lawmakers also have been less than eager to take on the divisive topic ahead of congressional elections in November.
The speech follows up on back-to-back meetings Obama had with advocates and lawmakers at the White House this week.
Obama has said a comprehensive solution means "accountability for everybody" — from the U.S. government meeting its obligation to secure the border, to businesses facing the consequences of knowingly employing illegal immigrants, to those who enter the country illegally owning up to their actions before they can begin the process of becoming citizens.
Recent developments on immigration influenced his decision to give a speech, White House officials say, most notably Arizona’s enactment of a tough anti-immigrant law and protests across the country against it.
"He thought this was a good time to talk plainly with the American people about his views on immigration," spokesman Bill Burton said.
Still, prospects appear bleak for getting a bill to Obama’s desk before lawmakers leave town in August to campaign for re-election in November, and the president could be partly responsible for that. In April, he gave lawmakers some wiggle room when he said Congress may not have the appetite to deal with immigration this year following a tough legislative year in 2009.
The political reality is that to get a bill Obama needs Republican support, mostly in the Senate, where Democrats fall short of the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican stalling tactics.
The Arizona law requires police enforcing another statute to clarify a person’s immigration status if there’s reason to believe the individual is in the U.S. illegally. Several states and communities are considering similar legislation, which Obama says is an understandable byproduct of the public’s frustration over the federal government’s inability to tighten the immigration system.
But Obama also has criticized the law as "misguided" and said it is potentially discriminatory. He has asked the Justice Department to review its legality and immigrant advocates are hoping the government will sue Arizona to block the law from taking effect later this month.
