President Obama said Tuesday that "now's the time" for immigration reform, using an address in Las Vegas to try and energize renewed talks in Congress toward comprehensive legislation.
"I'm here today because the time has come for common-sense comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said.
The president, setting out to achieve an immigration overhaul where many before him have failed, was running into trouble even before he gave his address. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of four Republican senators involved in a bipartisan effort to craft immigration legislation, earlier in the day blasted Obama for opposing a requirement to shore up border security before legalizing up to 11 million illegal immigrants.
Obama's speech, and a separate fact sheet handed out by the White House, made clear that the administration does not want to link the path to citizenship to border enforcement.
