President Barack Obama Tuesday challenged lawmakers to enact immigration reform, declaring that immigrants benefit the U.S. economy and that the border is more secure than ever.
“The question is whether those in Congress who previously walked away in the name of enforcement are now ready to come back to the table and finish the work that we’ve started,” Obama told about 900 people at an outdoor speech under a dry, baking sun. “We’ve got to put the politics aside.”
Obama’s Texas trip had its own political overtones: Beyond trying to reframe the immigration debate, the president’s visit aimed to shore up Hispanic support on the border ahead of two Democratic Party fundraisers in Austin.
“We’re here at the border today because we also recognize that being a nation of laws goes hand-in-hand with being a nation of immigrants,” Obama said at Chamizal National Memorial park, a dusty outpost on the bluffs of the Rio Grande named for a century-long border dispute. Obama made his now-familiar moral argument for immigration reform and reiterated his proposals: provide a path to citizenship, secure the borders, improve the existing immigration system and crack down on employers who exploit illegal workers.
The administration is trying to make the case that Obama’s leadership has improved border security and resulted in fewer attempts at illegal entry, meeting the demands of some Republican opponents of immigration reform.
“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,” Obama said. “Maybe (next) they’ll say we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat.”
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