Michelle Obama blames lack of comprehensive immigration reform on Republicans.

[pampango]

http://caivn.org/article/2011/02/15/michelle-obama-blames-lack-comprehensive-immigration-reform-republicans

Recently speaking before a key Hispanic audience through the Spanish television network Univision, The Hill newspaper blog reports that First Lady Michelle Obama placed blame for her husband's inability to pass immigration reform on the Republican Party, saying that legislation like the DREAM Act has been a top item on her husband's agenda. She is calling on the Hispanic community to hold Republicans accountable for their current immigration stance.

"So I urge the Latino community, he needs help, he's got to have Republicans and Democrats in Congress who are going to step up .... If a sound immigration bill gets put on the President's desk, he is going to sign it. But it's got to get through Congress. He can't do it alone," the First Lady said regarding her husband according to The Hill.

While the timing of the First Lady's remarks on the immigration issue may seem a bit of an oddity in the midst of current budget talks on Capitol Hill, they come just as a recent poll indicates that immigration reform is back at the top of the legislative priority of Hispanic voters sampled in the survey.

Even in the lame duck session of Congress, Democrats still retained a majority in both Houses of Congress and fell six Democratic votes short of passing the Dream Act. To be fair to the President, he did sue the state of Arizona over its controversial immigration law that empowered local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of suspected individuals. However, the failure to rally his party's majority in the Senate will continue to haunt President Obama throughout the rest of his term, especially as more states are considering an Arizona-style immigration law.