Posted on 06/30/2010 4:41:11 PM PDT by Qbert
President Barack Obama will talk about the urgency of the need for immigration reform in a major speech on Thursday, but will not give a timeline for action.
White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One that he does not "anticipate a specific timeline" when Obama will address the hot-button issue in an speech from American University.
As skepticism abounds on Capitol Hill about whether Obama can gain any traction on immigration in an election year, Burton was asked why the president was taking it on.
"It’s an issue that’s important right now," Burton said. "It’s important at the border. It’s important for folks who are employing people all over the country. It’s an important issue ... and the president thinks that right now, given the focus on it, it’s important that he makes clear exactly where he stands on it.
"There’s been the Arizona law, there’s been meetings about it, there’s been protests about it," he said. "He thought this was a good time to talk plainly with the American people about his views on immigration."
Burton said that "specifically, he thinks this debate is about accountability — accountability for securing the border, accountability for employers who are hiring illegal immigrants and accountability for those who are in this country illegally."
Obama has made immigration a focal issue this week, meeting at the White House with grassroots reform activists on Monday and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday.
The Obama White House has a history of setting deadlines that, while often missed, spur lawmakers to act with a sense of urgency, White House aides have said in the past.
But on the issues of immigration reform and energy, Obama and his aides have said only they would like to do something this year or as soon as possible. In April he conceded Congress might not have the “appetite” to act on immigration this year.
Unprecedented urgency, I will wager.
We’ll wait for Rush to tell us what he REALLY said on Friday. Can’t stand seeing that man on TV again. Rerun Obama.
Then it’s a waste of time. The country needs action now, not when he or Congress wants to get around to it. I would bet that people are going to start dieing fairly soon if something isn’t done. People are getting fed up.
Urgency without timelines.
War is Peace.
Healthcare causing slavery.
Man, it is just hard to keep up with the head-spinning contradictions implicit in everything they say or do.
We desparately need border enforcement and interior enforcement. AZ style AB 1070 lwas are perfect for interior enforcement. Every state should pass same or similar laws. If the pols won’t, use ballot initiatives and let the people force the pols to do the jobs they’ve neglected.
Yeah, the DemocRATS are just trying to figure out how they can pass amnesty and not get tried and convicted for treason.
So when is the next bullsheet session?
Barry needs the votes.
No time to do a time line. No time to read the bill. here we go again. Can you blame them? we let it happen once. May as well keep doing it as long as it works.
As par from idiotPOTUS.
As for watching this lametard.....Comedy channel has a better class of idiots showing....=.=
doesn’t matter. They yell and scream, call and fax......and then accept what ever is forced on them.
Same as his "timeline" for Obamacare then?
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