President Obama called for immigration during the annual State of the Union speech to Congress and warned against backsliding on the issue. There is no point in “refighting past battles on immigration reform when we’ve got to fix a broken system,” he said before threatening to veto legislation that would reverse administration decisions to let some undocumented immigrants remain in the country.
“Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is snatched from her child, and that it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” said Obama.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman said, “Many of my colleagues and I are working to fix our broken immigration system, starting with enforcement first.” Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Republican, added, “If the president is serious about immigration reform, then he needs to start enforcing our existing laws to rebuild trust with the American people and with Congress.”
The two largest U.S. farm groups focused on topics such as normalization of relations with Cuba, tax reform and negotiations for free-trade agreements. They did not mention immigration.
By some estimates, half of U.S. farm workers are undocumented immigrants. Farm groups say the current guest worker program is unwieldy and should be replaced.