Obama Pledges Immigration Reform After Fiscal Crisis Resolved

By Lorne Matalon
October 17, 2013
President
Lorne Matalon
President Obama passes by a military honor guard with former Mexican President Felipe Calderón at Los Pinos, the presidential headquarters in Mexico City.

President Barack Obama has called for substantive immigration reform by the end of this year. In an interview with Spanish-language network Univision, Obama said he hasn't given up on an immigration bill, emphasizing he'll push it after the government shutdown ends. 

"Once that's done — you know, the day after — I'm going to be pushing [Congress] to say, call a vote on immigration reform," Obama told Univision.

Obama's immigration efforts are likely to remain a touchstone of division in the Republican-run House of Representatives, where members describe a proposed path to citizenship as amnesty for lawbreakers.

The Senate passed an immigration bill earlier this year, but the House has not voted.

The Alliance for Citizenship, a pro-reform coalition based in Arizona, has issued a statement saying Congress "has a lot of work to do to prove they are capable of governing."