President Barack Obama says that he would be willing to work with the House of Representatives when it comes to their notion of approaching immigration reform using a piecemeal approach so long as vital elements, including offering a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants, remained included.
The White House had been hoping that a broad immigration reform bill would be able to be achieved during 2013 but the attempt has come to a standstill in the House of Representatives despite successfully passing the Senate back in June. Interviewed by Noticias Telemundo on Tuesday, Obama said that he would support efforts in the House to pass immigration reform one piece at a time provided that his priorities were still included.
“I’m happy to let the House work its will as long as the bill that ends up on my desk speaks to the central issues that have to be resolved,” Obama noted, pointing to his own priorities of penalties for employers who are taking advantage of undocumented workers, stronger border security and a path to US citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants that are currently living illegally in the United States. “If those elements are contained in a bill, whether they come through the House a little bit at a time or they come in one fell swoop… I’m less concerned about process. I’m more interested in making sure it gets done.”
Republican House Speaker John Boehner welcomed the President’s comments, saying it was important to have the confidence of Americans when it comes to immigration reform everyone can understand.