Obama: Immigration Could Hinge on Nov. 2 Elections

In an attempt to appeal to Latino voters, President Obama said comprehensive immigration reform hinges on Nov. 2nd’s elections.

Monday, the president expressed his desire to pass comprehensive immigration reform, but that Republicans are currently blocking his attempts, and says major Republican victories on Election Day could further disrupt passing reform.

He said he understands Latinos’ frustration with his inability to follow through with his promise to push for immigration reform, but said that since he couldn’t even get all the Democrats to agree to move forward, he’d need Republican help.

‘First of all, on immigration reform, I can’t get 100 percent of Democrats. I can get 90 percent of Democrats, but I can’t get 100 percent,’ he said. ‘Right now on immigration reform, we’re eight votes short or 10 votes short, so we have do the work behind the scenes to build the groundswell of support that can get us then over the finish line.’

‘I’m not asking for 100 percent support from Republicans. I’m not asking even for 50 percent support from Republicans,’ Obama later added. ‘I just want a little bit of support so that I can actually get this thing passed.’

‘And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder — and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2,’ said the president.