On April 29, 2010, the White House issued a statement by President Obama on the Senate’s Proposal for immigration reform. This press release is reproduced below:

“It is the federal government’s responsibility to enforce the law and secure our borders, as well as to set clear
rules and priorities for future immigration. The continued failure of the federal government to fix the broken
immigration system will leave the door open to a patchwork of actions at the state and local level that are
inconsistent and as we have seen recently, often misguided.

The proposal outlined today in the Senate is a very important step in the process of fixing our nation’s broken
immigration system. I am especially pleased to see that this detailed outline is consistent with the bipartisan
framework presented by Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham last month, and is grounded in the
principles of responsibility and accountability.

What has become increasingly clear is that we can no longer wait to fix our broken immigration system, which
Democrats and Republicans alike agree doesn’t work. It’s unacceptable to have 11 million people in the United
States who are living here illegally and outside of the system. I have repeatedly said that there are some
essential components that must be in immigration legislation. It must call for stronger border security
measures, tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and clearer rules for controlling future
immigration. And it must require those who are here illegally to get right with the law, pay penalties and taxes,
learn English, pass criminal background checks and admit responsibility before they are allowed to get in line
and eventually earn citizenship. The outline presented today includes many of these elements. The next critical
step is to iron out the details of a bill. We welcome that discussion, and my Administration will play an active role
in engaging partners on both sides of the aisle to work toward a bipartisan solution that is based on the
fundamental concept of accountability that the American people expect and deserve.”

The official press release is available here.