Obama: Anyone still standing in way of bipartisan immigration reform should explain why

NBCLatinoBy Suzanne Gamboa, NBCLatino

President Barack Obama fresh from a victory over Republicans on the government shutdown told House Republicans Thursday anyone standing in the way of bipartisan immigration reform should have to explain why.

Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, Obama prodded the House GOP saying “anyone consumed with the politics of fixing our immigration system should look at the polls.”

The American people support immigration reform, he said.

“Anyone still standing in the way of this bipartisan reform should have to explain why” Obama said, alluding to the upcoming 2014 congressional elections.

He said Congress has the time to get legislation passed and to him to sign and that economists have shown immigration reform would grow the economy by $1.4 trillion.

“What we can’t do is sweep the problem under the rug one more time,” he said. “Rather than create problems let’s prove to the American people Washington can actually solve some problems,” he said.

The day after the government shutdown ended, Obama issued a “to-do” list for Congress. Immigration reform was on that list, right after the No. 1 issue of fixing the budget and just before passing a farm bill.

Obama’s call for legislation is sandwiched between a Capitol gathering of young immigrants wanting to join the military and a planned convergence of groups of conservative faith, law enforcement and business leaders in Washington Tuesday to pressure the House to move immigration reform legislation.

“These don’t look like people who are easily deterred,” he said looking over the audience of immigration supporters and activists attending the East Room speech.

The House has passed five separate bills on immigration reform through committee and is working on others. Those passed cover a system for verifying workers can work in the U.S., temporary agriculture workers, high skilled worker visas and interior enforcement of immigration laws.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Wednesday said immigration needs to be addressed and he’s hopeful something could happen by the end of the year.

At a GOP Hispanic Heritage Month event in September, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., endorsed earned citizenship for children brought to the country by parents who entered the U.S. or stayed illegally.

He said he members were considering allowing adults to be given a legal status, but they would have to get citizenship by routes already in law, which are sponsorship by a spouse or family member or employer.

The House could string together the bills addressing separate immigration issues and take them to the conference with the Senate. However, his comments were made before the shutdown and some immigration advocates have soured on negotiation with Democrats after the political showdown around the shutdown and the debt ceiling.

Obama touted the Senate bill as legislation which could be passed.

But Brendan Buck, a spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner, released a statement after Obama’s speech, saying,

“The Speaker agrees that America has a broken immigration system and we need reform that would boost our economy. He’s also been clear that the House will not consider any massive, Obamacare-style legislation that no one understands. Instead, the House is committed to a common sense, step-by-step approach that gives Americans confidence that reform is done the right way. We hope that the president will work with us – not against us – as we pursue this deliberate approach.”

This article was originally published in NBCLatino.

[Photo courtesy of Yamila Pino]

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