Obama Leads New Charge On Amnesty
Pres. Obama will follow up two consecutive days of meetings about immigration reform with a speech at American University on Thursday on the topic. On Tuesday, Pres. Obama met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus a day after he met with Pro-Amnesty supporters on Monday.
During Tuesday's meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, news reports say the President discussed his goal of Democrats and Republicans to be able to come together on a mass amnesty bill. Earlier this year, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was working with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on a comprehensive reform bill that included an amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens, a biometric work ID card, and an increase in legal immigration numbers. Sen. Graham pulled out after the Administration's refusal to work with Republicans on other legislative items.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Pres. Obama's speech on Thursday will reiterate his goal of passing a mass amnesty bill in the near future. Groups from Monday's meeting with the President said they'll begin pressuring Republicans into working on a bill this year.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is looking at ways to use the Republican resistance to an amnesty bill against them in the fall's elections. A story published in Roll Call on Tuesday reported that the Caucus believes the Republican rally around Arizona's new immigration enforcement law can be used to energize Latino voters this fall. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) has made statements in the past that if Congress didn't have a vote on an amnesty bill this year, he would urge Hispanic voters to stay away from the polls this fall.