Obama Makes Pitch for Immigration Overhaul

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Wall Street Journal:

President Barack Obama laid out the case for his stalled effort to overhaul immigration laws on Thursday, and challenged Republicans who once backed the initiative to come forward again.

It was Mr. Obama's first speech as president devoted to the issue, and it came as many advocates of an overhaul, particularly in the Hispanic community, have become increasingly frustrated by a lack of action.

"The system is broken, and everybody knows it," Mr. Obama said at American University in Washington, D.C. "Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing…and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics."

The broad framework of the legislation Mr. Obama favors has been clear for some time, and on Thursday he again endorsed the underlying ideas. They include better securing the border, providing a path to citizenship for those now here illegally and creating a guest-worker program.

Mr. Obama presented no new ideas or initiatives, and it remained unclear how the measure could win approval in the Senate, where Republican backing is essential but so far elusive.

That fact, combined with a busy congressional calendar, suggests that the chances for action this year are near zero.

Mr. Obama blamed the GOP for inaction. He singled out his 2008 presidential rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who co-sponsored immigration legislation in 2006 but has walked away from that stance amid a primary-election challenge from the right.

"Now, under the pressures of partisanship and election-year politics, many of the 11 Republican senators who voted for reform in the past have now backed away from their previous support," Mr. Obama said.

Mr. McCain has said the U.S.-Mexico border must be secured before a comprehensive bill can advance. On Thursday, McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan added that Mr. Obama's speech lacked specifics and said the president didn't understand the real threats at the border.

"The speech was full of political rhetoric blaming Republicans for what is truly a lack of will by his administration and Democrat leaders in Congress," she said.

In pushing for legislation, the president may also make political gains ahead of November elections. If Hispanics are frustrated with the White House, they may be more angry with Republicans who block action.

Mr. Obama said he made the speech now because immigration has been in the news, with attention focusing on a contentious Arizona law that requires police to question people they suspect are in the U.S. illegally. Mr. Obama again criticized that measure, and his Justice Department is expected to file suit to try to block it.
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Obama tries his hand at immigration reform and goes nowhere fast. At least when Bush tried this, he made the case for enforcement as well as citizenship.

Related: Obama: AZ Law is ‘Divisive’ and ‘Unenforceable'

[Valin]

He might want to have a chat with George W Bush about how well that worked out for him.

[spikeytx86]

Immigration Reform is DOA. Republicans won't vote for it, and there are too many wobbly Democrats afraid to vote for it. Wish it wasn't so but alas reality is reality. It would be easier to find 60 votes against it than sixty for it.

[Argyle58]

Mr. Obama blamed the GOP for inaction. He singled out his 2008 presidential rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who co-sponsored immigration legislation in 2006 but has walked away from that stance amid a primary-election challenge from the right.

 

"Now, under the pressures of partisanship and election-year politics, many of the 11 Republican senators who voted for reform in the past have now backed away from their previous support," Mr. Obama said.

 

Zero's favorite past time, blaming someone else. The fact of the matter is that if you do nothing to stop illegals from coming in, and do nothing to punish them once they do, then you can expect the situation to continue to get worse.