05/21/2011
A debate over revamping the immigration laws of the country is once again being sought by U.S. President Barack Obama. He argued that innovation from immigrants was essential to job growth and that the underground economy being fueled by illegal immigration is weakening the U.S. middle class.
Making his first trip as president to the southern U.S. border, Obama told the crowd gathered in El Paso, Texas, that his administration has already answered critics who asked for more stringent border enforcement.
He said that now is the time to revise the “outdated” system for legal immigration and offer a legal path to residency for some of the estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally
Speaking to the audience at the Chamizal National Memorial, which memorializes the 1963 treaty with Mexico that settled the century-long boundary dispute, Obama said, “Immigration reform is an economic imperative.”
The president invoked the triumph of immigrants who went on to establish Intel Corp., Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., as proof that opening the country to foreign talent leads to the creation of jobs.
Quoting Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp, Obama said that the country cannot remain competitive in the global market by excluding talent. “It’s for this reason that businesses all across America are demanding that Washington finally meet its responsibility to solve the immigration problem,” said President Obama.
The speech of the president yesterday marked the fifth time in three weeks that he has put the immigration system overhaul on his agenda as he seeks to increase the pressure on Congress to makes moves to revamp the U.S. immigration laws.
