Excerpt
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Immigration took center stage in Washington today, as President Obama pushed for reform.
The president called for Congress to reject election-year politics and embrace comprehensive reform, in his first major address on immigration since taking office.
U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special interest wrangling and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Speaking at American University in Washington, Mr. Obama rejected an approach that focuses mainly on border security.
BARACK OBAMA: There are those who argue that we should not move forward with any other elements of reform until we have fully sealed our borders. But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won't work.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The speech came amid a renewed national debate sparked by an Arizona law that takes effect later this month. The law will make it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It also orders police to question someone's immigration status, if there is -- quote -- "reasonable suspicion."
Mr. Obama warned again today that could result in racial profiling. And immigration advocates are urging his administration to file suit to block the state law, on the grounds the federal government has sole authority to regulate immigration. The president said a clear, national standard is needed, and he urged Republicans to join in supporting a bill that sets one.
BARACK OBAMA: I'm ready to move forward. The majority of Democrats are ready to move forward. And I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward.
But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In the meantime, the president has ordered 1,200 National Guard troops, like these, to the border.
Today, he said, with the highest ever level of security, illegal crossings are down significantly.
For more on the policy and the politics behind immigration reform, we are joined by Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today, and Linda Feldmann, White House correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor.
Good to have you both with us. We appreciate it.
Susan Page, to you first. What was the thrust of what the president was saying today?
SUSAN PAGE, Washington bureau chief, USA Today: Well, the president repeated what he said before, which is that he supports a comprehensive immigration bill.
Here's what he didn't say. He didn't say here's a timetable that we're going to pursue. And he didn't promise there would be action this year. And he didn't mention a lawsuit, legal action that we expect the administration to take against that Arizona law that takes effect on July 29.
What he basically did was restate his previous position as an assurance to his supporters that this is an issue he has not forgotten.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, what does he want to see done, Linda Feldmann?
LINDA FELDMANN, White House correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor: Well, there are four pieces to comprehensive immigration reform.
He wants to strengthen border security, which everybody agrees on. And then, at the same time, he also wants to focus on other elements. One is that employers are -- are held responsible for making sure that their employees are here legally.
He wants the illegal immigrants themselves to step forward, admit they have broken the law, and then have a pathway for them to take steps to become legal, to pay a fine, pay taxes, learn English. And then the final piece is to fix the system of legal immigration, which is just as broken as every other aspect of the system.
Of course, the GOP is not REALLY interested in real solutions because the issue gives them a tool to rally their rabid (like in foaming at the mouth) conservative supporters.
UPDATE
"Federal Government Sues Over Arizona Immigration Law" by JULIA PRESTON, New York Times 7/6/2010
Excerpt
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Arizona to challenge a new state law designed to combat illegal immigration, arguing it would undermine the federal government’s pursuit of terrorists, gang members and other criminal immigrants.
The suit, filed in federal court in Phoenix, had been expected since mid-June, when Obama administration officials first disclosed they would contest Arizona directly, adding to several other suits seeking to strike down the law.
The federal government added its weight to the core argument in those suits, which contend that the Arizona law usurps powers to control immigration reserved for federal authorities. The main one of those suits was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other civil rights groups.
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