One day after asking Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to meet with him in the White House to determine strategies for passing comprehensive immigration reform, President Barack Obama made another push for the controversial legislation on Friday in a speech in New Orleans.
Obama urged House Republicans to pass immigration reform legislation “this year.” He claimed comprehensive immigration reform should “not be a partisan issue,” citing George W. Bush’s embrace of the legislation that turned off conservativesd.
The president said the country’s “broken immigration system” needed to be fixed.
On Thursday, Obama and McCain reportedly met in the White House to discuss immigration.
Obama noted on Friday that the Senate has already passed a comprehensive immigration bill that the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of Americans. House Republicans are reportedly working on piecemeal bills to get to conference with the Senate, where a pathway to citizenship provision would prevail.
Even if Congress does not pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year, McCain has previously said proponents of immigration reform would try to make another push after the Republican primaries next year, when Republicans would not have to fear challengers from conservatives for supporting amnesty.