Obama backs Senate Immigration Reform Plan

(AP)  President Barack Obama, facing criticism from advocates of immigration reform, pledged Thursday "to do everything in my power" to get immigration legislation moving in Congress this year.

Obama said work on an immigration bill should move forward based on an outline released Thursday by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"A critical next step will be to translate their framework into a legislative proposal, and for Congress to act at the earliest possible opportunity," Obama said.

The outline calls for illegal immigrants to admit they broke the law, pay a fine and back taxes, and perform community service if they want to get on a pathway to legal status. They would also be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English.

"I congratulate Sens. Schumer and Graham for their leadership, and pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue so we can continue to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said.

Obama's statement and the senators' outline were timed for release before a march and rally Sunday that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to Washington to press the administration and Congress for immigration reform.

Immigrants and their supporters have grown frustrated as the Obama administration has continued to detain and deport immigrants while immigration reform remains dormant. Obama had promised to make it a top priority in his first year in office.

Hoping to temper the percolating discontent, Obama held two separate meetings last week with grass-roots immigration leaders as well as Schumer and Graham. The president assured the leaders at the meeting that he remains committed to reform.

Obama met Thursday at the White House with Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, the sponsors of a House immigration bill. Gutierrez said later he agreed to vote for Obama's signature domestic bill, health care reform, only if an immigration bill advanced quickly and with a presidential imprimatur. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also endorsed the health care bill.

"I'm committed to voting for this health care bill on that basis," Gutierrez said. "I want the president to be in lockstep with us, which I believe he was during the campaign."

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said there was no quid pro quo involved in the White House's dealings with Gutierrez.

"Congressman Gutierrez is a longtime leader of the reform effort on the Hill, so of course they've had many conversations about it, and they'll continue to," Cherlin said.

Other parts of the Schumer-Graham outline include:

• Giving legal permanent residence to people who graduate with doctoral or master's degrees from U.S. universities.

• Adopting zero tolerance for illegal immigrants who commit crimes and expanding enforcement of immigration laws.

• Creating a flexible legal immigration system that brings in more low-skilled workers when jobs are available and fewer in a recession.

• Requiring all U.S. workers - citizens and legal immigrants - to get fraud-proof Social Security cards with a biometric identifier.

[iamaussoldier]

Have one Question for everyone who reads this......Is Immigrant blood worth your freedom? One more to follow.....Is Illegal immigrant blood worth your freedom? Does it really matter? It should....blood is blood natives give their lives so we could illegaly take their land...but also legaly kill the british off...and fight every enemy of the U.S. since...When terror hit those towers in NY....papers were my last concern...I have fought along side many Soldiers wearing the same uniform as me...some did not come back home...some were not even concidered Americans......but they shed their blood for YOU AND FOR EACH OTHER....i hope to that someday we can accept their blood as Americans.................

[youcancallmeroy]

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET

1 - A JOB,
2 - A DRIVERS LICENSE,
3 - SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
4 - WELFARE,
5 - FOOD STAMPS,
6 - CREDIT CARDS,
7 - SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
8 - FREE EDUCATION,
9 - FREE HEALTH CARE,
10 - A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON
11 - BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE
12 - AND THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY?S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON?T GET ENOUGH RESPECT

[cap129392]

Ive lived here for 20 years, 20 illegal years and have yet to see more that half the things on that list. Oh and I'm 21

[iamaussoldier]

sorry buddy but something tells me your are a bit confused about this country....was it not immigrants that founded this country...or were they the natives that we shot and killed their family...was Mr. Washington (AKA the first president of the United States) born in this country....no sir/mam he was not he was a tratior to britian that became a U.S. soldier and fought for his very freedom...as did I.......now I can call myself an American A Soldier in the U.S. Army....I was born here a citizen by birth but an American by choice!!!!

[rojero1]

Ignorant people here, if immigrants werent here, everytime you go to mcdonalds and get diarea who would clean your $#!t?? Atlist thank them for that!! And for the cheap prices too!!!!

[iamaussoldier]

Then you and every other American wouldn't be here eigther.....in the end we are all immigrants...its a line on the ground and everyone gets so lost in their ignorance...do some american history..it might pay off

[tundraline]

Why must so-called "immigration reform" include amnesty for illegal immigrants? Immigration reform ought to focus on securing our borders, and on expelling people who are living and working here illegally -- people whose first act in coming here literally was to disrespect and break our laws. Illegal immigrants need to go home and get in line with everyone else who wants to come here legally. Although I am a liberal democrat, I cannot support legislation that rewards people for breaking our laws. I also cannot support legislation that provides a pathway to precious American citizenship for illegal immigrants in the middle of the biggest economic depression in over 70 years. We need t o look after our own citizens, and not undermine the weakest among us by giving their jobs to those who have no legal right to be working or living within our borders. It's way past the time for our federal government to enforce the laws Congress passed decades ago, and deport illegal immigrants who take our jobs, increase crime rates, dumb down our schools, overwhelm and bankrupt our social and welfare programs, and swamp our hospital emergency rooms. For once it's time for us to be smart and do something constructive and effective about this huge problem -- which has enormous consequences for the future of the country -- instead of continuing to pander to special interests like the Hispanic caucus. This is our country, and as a sovereign nation we have te right to decide how we will deal with illegal immigrants. The time has come for them to just go back home. Cut off education, health care, social programs, the ability to get a driver's license, and all the other big things that are required to live and work here, and most illegal immigrants will self-deport (and others won't come here in first place). We can't take care of the whole world.

[tsigili]

All that amounts to, is LEGALIZING THE ILLEGALS!!!!!

That isn't reform. That is selling out the American people.

[dmwj2]

Yes - Legalizing the desirable immigrants. You people that think we can simply round'em up and ship'em back are delusional. Not only would it be a logistical nightmare, but the uproar from the hispanic community and human rights groups would mire any mass deportation for years! And, of course cost the tax payers a lot of money. The better plan, is to offer in good will a way to become legal, screen them, and deport or imprison the undesirables. Come on people - THINK!

[scottyusa]

Anyone who believes in Obama's vows and pledges is a mullet. He has broken more promises than any other president I know of. He is much more than an inexperienced president. He is a lunatic and people are finally getting it. how is hope and change working for you? Has anything geotten any better for the average citizen? We told him we want JOBS. He will never get it. He is out for himself and if you cannot see that than you are a mullet. My change is gone and I have lost hope.

[chitown639]

@scottyusa,
Mullet??? Spoken like a true simpleton........

[nearl451]

Is this not a bipartisan bill?

I do not understand all the mistrust. If Lindsay Graham backs it, it can'tbe too liberal.....but then again the xenophobes rejected true immigration reform proposed by President Bush too. They just wanted a 1000 mile fence and vigilante mobs....no amnesty path allowed.

[1notrub11]

"The outline calls for illegal immigrants to admit they broke the law, pay a fine and back taxes, and perform community service if they want to get on a pathway to legal status. They would also be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English."

Sounds interesting on the surface. I am still not sure I like the amnesty aspect, in the face of what legal immigrants have gone through, via the law. Nevertheless, this suffers from the highly likely inability to enforce.

For example, pay fines and back taxes - based on what? They haven't filed income tax returns and probably have no records. The majority probably couldn't afford anything but token fines anyway. Community service sounds good - origin, support, infrastructure are coming from where?
Highly likely it will take a significant amount of time to become English proficient. Who is going to teach them?

I have said it before, and will again. Each of the legal immigrants I know (from several origins) have already done these things legally. What is the message to them?

[gboyd41]

What does the term "illegal" mean to you?

[KeithDrippingSprings]

I hope they do something about immigration. I have always been in a position where I have been around migrant labor. And because of the and having a need for migrant labor I have been aware of the political bull that has gone on about this all my life and certainly the last 40 years that I have been in the work force.

The democrats screw things up because of pandering to unions. The Republicans keep it murky but don't support it outright because those big farmers in California have lots of campaign bucks. Then both parties do what ever is popular at the time either are for or against. They aren't honest brokers. They affect the legal process so much that many years we couldn't get legal bracero workers because the Immigration people were told to stall and turn down companies for any misspelling or mistake on the applications. Then when the economy is week they deny people that have been approved in the past. All they said was "well somebody needed to be turned down so it looked like we did our job"

I see plenty of self righteous people say that the employers should be fined. Well, I haven't seen any of those self righteous people jump their @ss on the lettuce truck. I have offered jobs at the workforce center and they send me people that couldn't make a day sweeping floors much less work doing stoop labor.

[iamaussoldier]

Aman to that friend!...that might be because these self righteous people were just born here and have not actully earned their own citzenship...just harboring off the goverment and then sit back and gripe and complain all the time about their jobs not paying enough or about people who have to fight, dig, and feel as if they are haveing to pull teeth from a lion just to get a piece of bread to feed their family back at home....