WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told
Hispanic voters on Thursday he was ready to sign a broad-based
immigration fix, blaming his political rivals in Washington for
blocking one of his major unmet campaign promises from 2008.
At a Cinco de Mayo reception he hosted at the White House,
Obama he would keep fighting for reforms to grant children of
undocumented workers a path to U.S. citizenship and address
other problems with the country's complex immigration rules.
"'No' is not an option. I want to sign the DREAM Act into
law. I've got the pens all ready," he told the Rose Garden event
featuring margaritas and tacos held two days ahead of May 5,
marked in the United States to celebrate Mexican culture.
"I'm willing to work with anybody who is serious to get this
done and to achieve bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform
to solve this challenge once and for all," he said.
Latino voters could be pivotal in the race for the White
House on Nov. 6, particularly in battleground states like
Florida, Arizona, Colorado and Virginia.
Obama, a Democrat, is polling ahead among Hispanics of the
likely Republican contender Mitt Romney. But many Latinos are
disappointed the president failed to deliver immigration reform
so far and are upset about the high deportation numbers on his
watch.
Last month, the president said he would tackle immigration
reform right away in his second term if re-elected.
(Reporting By Samson Reiny)
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