President Obama recently stated that immigration reform will pass before January 2017, before his presidency is over. He also stated that he is hoping to get immigration reform passed this year. He wants the people to urge the House Republicans, who are refusing to act on immigration reform, to pass a reform bill.
President Obama stated that he will not adopt unilateral measures and stop deporting undocumented immigrants until the reform is passed. There are many activists who want the president to sign an executive order and legalize undocumented immigrants, President Obama however, may not do so.
In his speech at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Cambridge, President Obama stated that immigration reform is one of his top legislative priorities for 2014. He wants to pass an immigration policy that would benefit the U.S. economy and help people come out of the shadows. According to him, failure to act on immigration reform would hurt the economy and the immigrant families. He stated that the lives of 11 million immigrants are being impacted.
The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill with a path to U.S. citizenship in June. This bill would not only legalize the undocumented immigrants but also secure the country’s borders.
The House Republicans presented their immigration reform principles in January. Their principles would only put the young undocumented immigrants, the DREAMers, on a path to citizenship and not all the undocumented immigrants.
House Speaker John Boehner stated that the House Republicans are not happy about the Senate bill and that is the reason why they are working on step-by-step, common-sense reform. According to the House, the Senate’s measure is nothing but “amnesty”. The main focus of the House is not on legalizing the undocumented immigrants but on securing the country’s borders.