Barack Obama put pressure on Congress on Monday to introduce an immigration reform bill by April, saying the “time has come to fix once and for all” the broken system.
Speaking at the White House at a naturalisation ceremony for 28 people, Obama indicated that he wanted to stick to the timetable he outlined in his inaugural address in January.
Members of Congress directly involved in discussions had been reporting better-than-expected progress over the last few weeks but by the end of last week admitted they had been unable to resolve outstanding differences before breaking for the Easter holiday.
Senators expressed hope that they could have a bill ready within two weeks of their return. Hopes of a deal have been raised by the support coming from Republican senators such as Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.