On Friday President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama visited protestors who are in the midst of fasting in a bid to try to put pressure on Congress to pass an immigration reform bill. Organizers Dae Joong Yoon and Eliseo Median were praised by the Obamas and the rest of the fasters were thanked for their sacrifice and dedication, being told that the rest of the United States supports them when it comes to the issue of immigration reform.
“It is not a question of whether immigration reform will pass, but how soon,” the President is quoted as saying in a White House statement. “He said that the only thing standing in the way is politics, and it is the commitment to change from advocates like these brave fasters that will help pressure the House to finally act.” The Obamas spoke with the fasters for around 30 minutes.
The Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, earlier this year, passed an immigration reform bill but the issue has not been taken up by the House of Representatives, which is in the hands of the Republican Party, many of whom are against the offering of a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants
The President’s visit was welcomed by the demonstrators, according to faster Rudy Lopez: “He shared his support and his commitment to keep pushing this forward,” Lopez says. Other top officials in the Obama administration have also visited the fasters, including Vice President Joe Biden.