US President Barack Obama travelled Tuesday to the US-Mexican border to call for reform of the US immigration system, demanding that Congress act on the long-simmering issue, dpa reported.
"The question is whether those in Congress who previously walked away in the name of enforcement are now ready to come back to the table and finish the work we've started," he said in a speech in El Paso, Texas. "We have to put the politics aside. And if we do, I'm confident we can find common ground."
Obama has called immigration one of his top priorities since entering office in January 2009, but has failed to get comprehensive legislation seriously considered by either chamber of Congress. The move was seen as a bid to woo Hispanic voters, a crucial voting bloc, ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
Earlier this year, an Obama-backed proposal, offering foreign-born children of illegal immigrants the chance to become US citizens if they attend university or serve in the military, failed in Congress.
"I know some here wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that's not how a democracy works," Obama said. "What we really need to do is keep up the fight to pass reform. That's the ultimate solution to this problem."
He lauded his administration's efforts to secure the US-Mexican border, efforts that Republicans have said do not go far enough.
Obama called for continued efforts to secure the border and hold accountable both illegal immigrants and the employers who hire them. He said the system that allows immigrants to enter the country legally must be reformed to make it easier for foreigners to study and start businesses in the United States.
