When Immigration Matters

Immigration Reform Takes Priority As Obama Heads to El Paso

Posted by Karen Pollak on May 9, 2011 4:35:00 PM

Osama bin Laden’s death has earned some political capital for President Obama- and now, it looks like he’s going to spend  a little bit of it on immigration reform.

“President Obama heads to El Paso Texas to speak out on what the White House calls the nation’s ‘broken immigration system.’

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The announcement of Obama’s speech comes as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called for an end to the state-by-state battles. She says immigration reform won’t be successful until the feds step in. According to Newsroom America...

“In a speech at the Atlanta Press Club, Napolitano dodged a question about legislation in Georgia that matches Arizona's recent immigration reform law, instead saying Washington should write such laws.”

President Obama has acknowledged he’ll need bipartisan support for any new immigration laws, especially after Democrats lost the House in last November’s elections. But according to a blogger for TIME, cooperation doesn’t look likely.

“Leading Republican lawmakers strongly object to the President's proposal to put people who are in the U.S. illegally on a citizenship track. Conservatives decry that as rewarding lawbreakers – and since the raid on Bin Laden's Pakistan compound this week has given Obama new warrior clout, the GOP may well decide immigration is a useful issue for chopping his security cachet down again before the 2012 election.”

A writer for The Daily Caller says the timing of President Obama’s renewed interest in immigration reform isn’t a coincidence.

“Hispanics are a key element in his reelection campaign, partly because his support among working-class whites and swing-voters have crashed after two years of lousy economic conditions. But Hispanics’ turnout is low, and their lopsided support for him has tumbled from 68 percent to 54 percent over the last few years.”

A writer for the Huffington Post adds- Obama hasn’t always had the Hispanic community’s support.

“Obama has had a rocky relationship with Latinos since taking office. The biggest blow was his failure to deliver on a campaign promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform during his first year in office. Latinos were also angry when Obama didn’t mention immigration reform once in his 2010 State of the Union address.”

The President’s speech on immigration reform will be in El Paso on Tuesday.

Tags: President Obama, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, immigration reform

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