Immigration

Washington –  President Barack Obama said that immigration reform is one of the pending tasks he wants to complete before his presidency ends because the United States needs an "orderly process" for immigration.

"We have not gotten (immigration reform) done. It's something I care deeply about. It's the right thing for the country. I want to get that done while I'm president," Obama told a town-hall meeting at Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

"So what we've said is let's fix the whole system. First of all, let's make the legal immigration system more fair than it is and more efficient than it is," the president said.

"And there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to achieve a system that is fair, is equitable, is an economic engine for America," he said, asking for greater political pressure to achieve reform because, he said, "I can't solve this problem by myself."

The president said the United States needs immigrants who are educated, who develop needed skills for the workplace, who open businesses and help create jobs.

"Let's make sure that if they want to reinvest and make their future here in America that they can," he said.

He also repeated his support for the DREAM Act that would legaize undocumented students who "think of themselves as Americans, but many of them still don't have a legal status."

This was the second of three town halls Obama scheduled for this week in different areas of the country to persuade public opinion about his plan to reduce the deficit. The first was in northern Virginia, and on Thursday he will offer another in Reno, Nevada.

In 2008, Obama promised the Hispanic electorate an immigration reform that would allow undocumented immigrants to legalize their status while improving border security, among other measures. He won the election with 67 percent of the Hispanic vote.

But the fact that the promise has not been kept has elicited sharp criticism from leaders of the immigrant community - who slam the increase in raids and deportations - and from Democrats in Congress.

On Tuesday, Obama met privately with dozens of civic, business, religious and union leaders, along with mayors and police chiefs, to analyze strategies for securing reform this year.

Among those present at the town-hall meeting were the Facebook CEO and president, Mark Zuckerberg, who acted as moderator, and the social network's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.