Obama Insists on Immigration Reform

President Barack Obama insists today on the need to fix the United States’ immigration system, pressured by millions of people who demand more heart from him while facing the problem.

As part of his effort, the head of state held interviews with former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and the mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, two politicians who devote themselves to the debate to modify the law and solve the situation of nearly 11 million undocumented residents in the country.

White House spokesperson Nick Shapiro announced the night before that Obama would listen to the opinions of businessmen, police chiefs, religious leaders and political leaders on the subject.

Law reform in this sector is one of the president’s unfulfilled campaign promises, and it is one that can deduct votes from him in, among others, the Latin community, which forms the largest minority in the country.

Regarding this, an inquiry by pollster Rasmussen showed that 61 percent of people surveyed do not support granting automatic citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.

Of this total, 77 percent of Republican voters and 63 percent of independent voters did not favor granting automatic citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.

Since some years ago, the subject of immigration reform only looms over the elections for the United States presidency. It does not reach elsewhere. Obviously, few governments run the risk or have the courage to confront a problem that polarizes opinions in a time of counting votes, experts say.

Ronald Reagan, Bushes the father, Bush the son, William Clinton and now Obama faced the immigration problem from different angles; in fact, all tried to advance law reform in their own way.

Facing the presidential elections on Nov. 6, 2012, it’s now Obama’s turn. For some critics, he lacked the prominence to drive the topic.

One standout case is that of the young people who had their hopes placed in the initiative known as the DREAM Act, blocked by the Republicans in Congress in spite of only benefiting a small population of immigrants who work hard and aspire to go to college or serve in the American military, according to their sponsors.

Recently, 21 Democratic senators and one independent sent a letter to President Obama asking him to consider using special powers to permit these youths to stay in the country.

The senators stated in the letter that offering deferred action in these cases is a responsible use of resources, asking the president to consider using strict but generous criteria to grant stays to youths who would have qualified for the DREAM Act.