Barack Obama increased the pressure on the US Congress to introduce a bill on immigration reform on Monday, saying that the time had come for the broken system to be repaired and noting that he hoped to be able to stick to the original deadline that he had outlined at the beginning of this year in his inaugural address to the nation.
Members of Congress who were directly involved in the discussions relating to immigration reform last week reported that better than anticipated progress was being made, but by Friday acknowledged that some outstanding differences had been unable to be resolved before they broke off for the Easter holiday. However, Senators are hoping that a bill could be ready within just two weeks following their return.
The hope for such a deal being reached has been increased by the unexpected support coming from a number of Republican senators such as Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and John McCain.
“The time has come for comprehensive, sensible immigration reform,” Obama says. “We are making progress, but we’ve got to finish the job because this issue is not new. Everyone pretty much knows what’s broken, everyone knows how to fix it… so expect a bill to be put forward. I expect the debate to begin next month. I want to sign that bill into law as soon as possible.”
US immigration reform is one of the most important issues that the President wants to see addressed in his second term in the White House.