On Monday, August 10th in Guadalajara, Mexico, President Obama reconfirmed that immigration reform is a priority for his administration. Indeed, even as President Obama discusses the need for reform, his Administration is continuing with hash, punitive policies, which will only inflict further pain on immigrant families and communities while the timeline for Congressional and Administration action on immigration reform drags out even longer.

Despite these delays the President was clear that like health care the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. However, it also cautioned that it would not be easy.

"Now, am I going to be able to snap my fingers and get this done? No,” the president said. “But ultimately, I think the American people want fairness. And we can create a system in which you have strong border security and an orderly process for people to come in. But we’re also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so they don’t have to live in the shadows."

When the legislation comes, "There are going to be demagogues out there who try to suggest that any form of pathway for legalization for those who are already in the United States is unacceptable," said Obama.

But these demagogues are in the minority, the majority of americans want a fair, common sense plan to fix our broken immigration system.

ICIRR, along with immigrants across the nation, and faith, labor, and business allies, will continue to push to hold President Obama to his promise, and to work with his Administration and with Congress to enact the workable solutions that our immigration system needs.

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