Today, President Obama spoke about the need to fix the broken U.S. immigration system and pledged that if Congress fails to pass their own legislation, he will send through his own Bill.
The President, speaking in Las Vegas, outlined three core principles, which he said have come to be the consensus among both Democrats and Republicans. He said any reform must include:
1. A continued focus on strong Enforcement efforts
2. To modernize the system to meet America’s needs in the 21st century, and
3. To create a path to Citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people currently in the U.S.
He stated clearly that the path to citizenship must be met for any reform to make sense, and that the path “will not be quick but it will be fair.”
He lauded the Bipartisan efforts in both the Senate and House, as they have announced their progress in coming to an agreement on reform. However, he stated that while there seems “to be genuine interest, action must follow.” Obama emphasized that while the details of any plan are typically where it becomes problematic for Congress to agree, both Republicans and Democrats must make sacrifices to resolve this issue once and for all.
The President also made a plea to the American people to reflect on the history of the nation and not to adopt an “us v. them” attitude while the House negotiates reform.
“In the coming weeks, remember this isn’t just a debate about policy,” he said, it’s about people that want nothing more “than to earn their way” into the U.S. “Unless you are a Native American, you are from somewhere else, and someone else brought you here,” stated Obama. “Most of us use to be them.”
