Arizona Action/Reaction: 12 to 30 million Illegal Aliens to Become US Citizens?

04-24-2010 • AZcentral.com

Immigrant-rights advocates are showing a renewed urgency to push Congress and President Barack Obama to adopt a federal law combining tough enforcement with a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. Obama said Friday that he agrees that the federal government must act to avoid "irresponsibility by others." He called Arizona's law "misguided" and instructed the Justice Department to examine whether the bill is a violation of civil rights. "The recent efforts in Arizona ... threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe," Obama said at a ceremony in which immigrants on active duty for the U.S. military were sworn in as U.S. citizens.