[ 2011-05-11 ]

Barack Obama: "We have strengthened border security beyond what many people believed was possible"

Obama calls for migrant overhaul
President Barack Obama has called for broad reform
of the US immigration system, while highlighting
steps he has taken to strengthen border security.

In Texas, Mr Obama backed a path to legal status
for illegal immigrants, as well as crackdowns on
employers who hire illegal workers.

He called on the fractured Congress to reject "the
usual Washington games" and enact a comprehensive
overhaul.

An estimated 11m illegal immigrants, most of them
Hispanic, live in the US.

In El Paso, a Texas border city, Mr Obama said he
had satisfied calls from conservatives to tighten
security at the border and to increase
deportations of illegal immigrants.

He called on Congress to reform the immigration
system in a manner that would encourage skilled
and motivated immigrants to participate in
American society while ending what he called an
underground economy that preys on low-wage illegal
immigrants.

"We need to come together around reform that
reflects our values as a nation of laws and a
nation of immigrants, that demands everyone take
responsibility," he said.

Immigration reform is of particular importance to
the growing Hispanic electorate, which is
Democratic-leaning and whose continued support Mr
Obama will need in his 2012 re-election bid.

Ahead of Mr Obama's speech, White House aides
stressed Mr Obama remained committed to reform,
even though Republicans derailed overhaul efforts
in 2006, 2007 and 2010.

In Texas, Mr Obama mocked Republican opponents on
the issue.

"We have gone above and beyond what was requested
by the very Republicans who said they supported
broader reform as long as we got serious about
enforcement," Mr Obama said.

"But even though we've answered these concerns, I
suspect there will be those who will try to move
the goal posts one more time... Maybe they'll say
we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat."

Opponents, mostly conservatives, have criticised
proposals as an unacceptable "amnesty" for people
who have broken the law - even though one major
proposal backed by Democrats would have applied
only to those who came to the US as children.

State crackdowns

While Washington DC has been unable to achieve
federal immigration reform, three states have
sought to take action themselves.

Arizona, Georgia and Utah have passed measures
giving police the power to demand documentation
from people they suspect of being illegal
immigrants who have been detained on other
charges.

Arizona's law has been put on hold by the federal
courts.

Meanwhile, a judge in Utah blocked the state's new
immigration law on Friday, just hours after it
went into effect.

District Judge Clark Waddoups issued his ruling in
Salt Lake City, citing its similarity to Arizona's
law.

The American Civil Liberties Union and National
Immigration Law Center had sued to stop the law in
Utah, saying it was modelled after the Arizona and
that its implementation could lead to racial
profiling.

In 2008, 67% of Hispanics voted for Mr Obama,
compared with 31% for Republican John McCain, exit
polls showed.

The Hispanic vote pushed Mr Obama over the margin
of victory in four states won by President George
Bush in 2004, some analysts calculate.

The Republican Party lost significant support
among Hispanic voters following the 2004 election,
in which Mr Bush won 40% of the Hispanic vote, in
part because of the party's hard line on illegal
immigration, analysts say.

Source - BBC

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