President Obama promises immigration reform in second term

While in Columbia for the Summit of the Americas, President Obama took time to speak to Univision where he promised to seek immigration reform during his second term if he is elected.

In the interview President Obama said he would work on immigration reform but getting the support of Republicans in Congress has been a challenge. He also criticized Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney saying he supports the tough immigration laws passed by individuals states.

Romney once stated that Arizona’s immigration law was a “model” for the country. Arizona and Alabama have provisions in their immigration laws that would allow police to stop people they suspect of being undocumented immigrants. This provision has been heavily criticized by civil rights activists and immigration attorneys who assert it leads to racial profiling of Latino-Americans.

With close to 12 million illegal immigrants many of them from Mexico and South America, Latinos are an increasingly important bloc of voters for any presidential candidate. President Obama got the majority of the Latino vote in 2008, but has been criticized for not being able to reform the current immigration system.

Although the U.S. has one of the most liberal immigration systems, it can be difficult for immigration lawyers to obtain visas or citizenship for their clients. The challenges of being legally recognized is discouraging to hopeful immigrants who often chose to enter the country illegally instead of allowing an immigration attorney to guide them through the process.