They actually mean amnesty for 30+ million Mexicans and others. — Ed.
President Barack Obama will present plansfor immigration reform this year, Hispanic lawmakers said Wednesdayafter strategic talks at the White House.
Obama “was clear andeloquent and determinate to let us know that we are all together in theroute of comprehensive immigration reform,” Democratic lawmaker LuisGutierrez told reporters after the discussion between the president andthe Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).
“We believe that we are moving forward this year, we are going to work with the president,” added CHC leader Nydia Velazquez.
Obama will convene a public forum on the issue “probably in two months,” according to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting was “robust andstrategic” and that Obama will work with CHC members to addressimmigration reform “in both the short and long term.”
Two legislative measures to reformimmigration failed to gain traction in Congress in 2006 and 2007, aslawmakers grappled with the task of addressing the 12 millionundocumented would-be immigrants in the United States.
In themeeting CHC members made “absolutely clear that this is the civilrights issue of our community and that we will all be judged on how weact on this issue,” added Gutierrez.