Obama: GOP Won't Help on Immigration

At least he’s being honest? President Obama said on Thursday that he’s ready to act on immigration, but that action is unlikely as Republican cooperation is needed and the GOP is unlikely to throw its weight behind him in an election year. He particularly targeted 11 Republican senators who had previously been supportive of immigration reform, saying that they’re giving into the “pressures of partisanship and election-year politics.” It was his first presidential speech on the issue, and he laid out a plan familiar to those of years past: It would boost border security, punish businesses that hire illegal immigrants, and give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. "I'm ready to move forward, the majority of Democrats are ready to move forward and I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward,” Obama said. “But the fact is that without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem." He had originally promised to act on immigration during the first year of his administration.