By Micheal E. Hill
Friday, October 16, 2009  -  10:30 am EDT
[Updated on Monday, October 19, 2009 --  5:30 am EDT]

President Barack Obama yesterday defended his Administration's immigration enforcement policies, reaffirmed his support for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation, and set a timeline of one-to-two years for enactment of CIR legislation.  The President's comments on immigration reform were made yesterday during a town hall meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The President's defense, reaffirmation, and timeline came during a response to a question that was asked by one of the attendees at the Town Hall meeting.

A questioner at the Town Hall meeting noted that there are a lot of cases of "mothers losing their children because of immigration."  She told the President that "the kids are lost in the system" and that she didn't think it was fair.  She pleaded with the President to find a way "to keep the families together."

In an extended response to the questioner, President Obama told the audience that the problem is complicated.  He said that, in the short-term, his Administration was trying to "apply our immigration laws in a humane way that recognizes you don't want to just snatch a child from a mother if the child is a U.S. citizen, even if the mother may not be."  The President went on to say that the long-term solution to the problem is comprehensive immigration reform.  He outlined a familiar prescription for such reforms, including strengthening the borders and strengthening employment-based immigration enforcement.  He told the audience that "the third thing, then, is we've got to figure out" how to deal with the 10-to-15 million undocumented workers living here.

The President contended that illegal immigration is often stereotyped as being a problem with Mexicans coming over the U.S. border.  But, he noted, there are illegal immigrants in the United States from all over the world.

The President stated that as a condition of legalizing undocumented aliens, they should have to learn English and "jump through a whole bunch of hoops."  The only "hoop" that the President specifically listed included paying back taxes.

President Obama was critical of both those on the left and the right side of the immigration debate.  He criticized those on the left, who he said "want immigration reform but, they don't want to acknowledge the fact that we've got to strengthen our borders."  He criticized those on the right, saying that "there are some folks who say just crack down on the borders, but they pretend like somehow we're going to send back 12 million people, and we're not."

As for timing of immigration reform legislation, the President said "I think that we've got an opportunity to solve it in the next year or two."

Click Here to see a transcript of the President's October 14, 2009, remarks in New Orleans on comprehensive immigration reform.