President Obama told three members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on
Tuesday that he believes Congress should pass the DREAM Act on immigration
before adjourning, the White House announced.
Here's the readout from their meeting:
"In an Oval Office meeting today, the President and leaders of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez of New
Jersey, U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York, and U.S.
Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois – discussed the options on
immigration reform immediately facing the Congress. He thanked them for
their constant efforts on this issue. The President and the CHC leaders
believe that, before adjourning, Congress should approve the DREAM Act. This
legislation has traditionally enjoyed support from Democratic and
Republican lawmakers and would give young people who were brought as minors
to the United States by their parents the opportunity to earn their
citizenship by pursuing a college degree or through military service."
"The President reiterated his support for fixing the broken immigration
system and urged the CHC leaders to work to restore the bipartisan coalition
backing comprehensive immigration reform. The President repeated his hope
that, with the election season’s pressures past, Congressional Republicans
would work with their Democratic colleagues not only to strengthen security
at the nation’s borders, but also to restore responsibility and
accountability to what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system. The
President reiterated his strong support for bipartisan Congressional action
on immigration reform at the earliest opportunity, noting that the American
people expect both parties to work together to tackle the challenges
confronting our nation."
