United States President Barack Obama asked Congress to come up with a reform bill for immigration by April, according to The Guardian.
Obama addressed the audience at a naturalization ceremony he held in honor of 28 individuals. During the ceremony, which took place at the White House, Obama urged lawmakers to work in order to keep the timetable he described in his inaugural address.
Even though lawmakers have cited great progress over the last month, they are admittedly held up over differences in opinion. This means a bill will not be drawn up before Easter weekend.
However, senators have exuded confidence that a bill would be achieved within the first few weeks of April.
"We've known for years that our immigration system is broken, that we're not doing enough to harness the talent and ingenuity of all those who want to work hard and find a place in America,” Obama said Monday, according to the Guardian. “And after avoiding the problem for years, the time has come to fix it once and all. The time has come for comprehensive, sensible immigration reform.
"We are making progress, but we've got to finish the job, because this issue is not new,” he said. “Everyone pretty much knows what's broken; everyone knows how to fix it … So I expect a bill to be put forward. I expect the debate to begin next month. I want to sign that bill into law as soon as possible."
According the Guardian, the Senate has accepted that it must create a way for the approximately “11 million undocumented workers” who reside in the U.S. The House is not exactly on the same page. There are House Republicans who are not willing to grant full U.S. citizenship to anyone who did not legally enter the country.
Obama pointed out that almost all Americans are descendants of immigrants.
"The point is that unless you are one of the first Americans, unless you are a Native American, you came from someplace else,” he said. “That's why we've always defined ourselves as a nation of immigrants. And we've always been better off for it."
