President Barack Obama says that he wants to try to make immigration reform “as easy as possible” to be accepted by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Obama met with business leaders at the White House in order to strategize on how to succeed in pushing through immigration reform.
Obama has said that he has been encouraged by the amount of Republicans who have told him that reforming the nation’s broken immigration system is the right move. “The politics are challenging… and we want to make it as easy… as possible,” he noted before the meeting took place. “This is not an issue where we’re looking for a political win. This is one where we’re looking for a substantive win for the US economy and the American people and the businesses that are represented here.”
The President has previously said that he still believes immigration reform can be achieved by the end of this year and is adamant that a pathway to citizenship needs to be provided to the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants that are currently residing in the United States.
Obama says that business owners are fully aware that the reality of a successful outcome for immigration reform will result in more customers for their businesses. Such reforms include the streamlining of the system, increasing border security, holding employers accountable who fail to do the right thing and give citizenship to those immigrants who pay their fines, learn English and accept their responsibilities.