President Barack Obama schedule to Texas on Tuesday to make the case that his administration has worked hard to safe the border and the time has come for Congress to deal with the 10.8 million people previously in the U.S. illegally.
He will also dispute that those who care about this subject need to step up pressure on Congress to act, a point he has made privately in a cord of meetings with business executives, evangelical leaders and Hispanic celebrities.
Many activists guilt the White House for not making the issue more of a priority, and Tuesday's speech is an effort, in part, to shift notice to Republicans who are blocking action.
Many Republicans and some Democrats resist the measures Mr. Obama favors that would create a path to citizenship for some people who entered the country unlawfully, saying it would reward law-breaking. Opponents also say not enough has been done to secure the border with Mexico. The White House says it has put more "boots on the ground" along the southwest border than ever previous to and has cracked down on employers who hire undocumented workers.
The administration has also deported a record number of illegal immigrants, a point that has angered Hispanic activists. Federal officials say deportations of unlawful immigrants hit a record 392,000 in fiscal year 2010.
Hoping to push from side to side the political stalemate, Mr. Obama has held private meetings to talk about immigration with political figures such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, business leaders such as John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable; and religious leaders such as Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
He also met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and with a number of Hispanic celebrities. On Thursday, he will speak at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast.
In Congress, Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who worked for months on a complete bill before talks fell apart last year, are talking again about a political plan to pass the legislation. But the seriousness of those talks is unclear.
Mr. Schumer said Friday that talks had intensified in the last month and that he and Mr. Graham have only one substantive issue to work out—the crafting of a guest-worker program. But a spokesman for Mr. Graham suggested the talks weren't serious, saying the two senators have been talking for two years but have unsuccessful to produce legislation.
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