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Oh so slow

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

Like his predecessor, Obama promised to expend the political capital necessary to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.
But he is having a tough time following through and even with meeting members of Congress to discuss the subject.
Obama held a press conference Wednesday that was initially expected to include immigration as a topic. It did not and instead the session was dominated by Iran.
An economy with escalating joblessness has not proved to be the greatest environment in which to tackle immigration reform.
Several announced meetings between the president and members of Congress on the subject had to be re-scheduled over the last few months.
The White House originally foreshadowed a large-scale speech on the issue for May, but the speech was never given. The administration dialed back expectations for legislative reform even further this week.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said: “currently where we sit, the math makes that more difficult than the discussion.”
President Obama himself did not discuss such mathematical obstacles when speaking to a predominantly Hispanic audience late last week. He outlined the same path to citizenship suggested during the Bush administration and within the McCain/Kennedy plan that ultimately fell on Capitol Hill.
“For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes,” Obama declared at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast.
And he added that illegal immigrants already in the country should “go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules.”
“That is the fair, practical, and promising way forward, and that’s what I’m committed to passing as president of the United States,” Obama said.
And he added: “the American people believe in immigration, but they also believe that we can’t tolerate a situation where people come to the United States in violation of the law, nor can we tolerate employers who exploit undocumented workers in order to drive down wages.
“That’s why we’re taking steps to strengthen border security, and we must build on those efforts. We must also clarify the status of millions who are here illegally, many who have put down roots.”
Even as the president said this, his aides were conceding that the votes necessary for passing reform are not currently available from both Democrats and Republicans, and that the White House sees the status of reform as being back to the same levels of 2005 and 2006, when the Kennedy McCain “pathway to citizenship” idea peaked before languishing.
Both sides of the aisle will be represented at a meeting with congressional members scheduled for later this week at the White House to go over immigration reform – this if nothing intervenes in the meantime that necessitates it to be rescheduled yet again.

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