06 July 2009

Commitment made to American immigration reform

President Obama has made a serious commitment to immigration reform, the New York Times reported.

President Obama dispelled any doubts others might have had on his commitment to American immigration reform at a bipartisan White House meeting with members of Congress in June.

"The President wants a comprehensive reform done this year or, at the latest, at the beginning of next year," said Republican Anthony Weiner, who attended the meeting.

"He half-jokingly told us that he was willing to use 'any political capital he has left' for this purpose," Weiner told the New York Times.

Weiner believes the road to a new comprehensive American immigration law is sure to be bumpy, but not impossible, to travel - especially with Obama's leadership.

"If we learned something in previous elections it's that immigration was not the toxic issue many thought it was," Weiner said referring to the slew of anti-immigration candidates rejected by voters in recent elections.

Opinion polls show time and time again that the majority of the American people favor a fair and compassionate immigration reform law with a path to American citizenship.

Recent polling conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group shows that - despite conventional wisdom to the contrary - even Republican voters overwhelmingly support comprehensive reform, reject enforcement-only approaches and believe reform will help the economy.

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The American Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in American visa and immigration services.