President Expects End of Year Immigration Legislation

As he wrapped up his trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, on Monday, President Obama seemingly put immigration on the back burner, saying – efforts to change the immigration system would have to wait until next year. He wants to focus on health care reform, energy legislation and financial regulatory changes. Still, the President indicated his administration will begin working on a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system this year - but that no action on legislation will happen before 2010.

The President said there needs to be - a pathway to citizenship - for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, and the system must be reworked to avoid tensions with Mexico. Without it, he said, Mexicans will keep crossing the border in dangerous ways and employers will continue exploiting workers. Mr. Obama believes, - we can create a system in which you have . . . an orderly process for people to come in, but we're also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so that they don't have to live in the shadows. The President admits, - this is going to be difficult.