No WH Transcript out yet from O's "Immigration Speech" but Politico's Whiteboard has this so far....
WHITEBOARD
FOCUS ON IMMIGRATION: President Obama lays out his view for "fixing" the country's immigration system, saying, "We can create a pathway to legal status that is fair, reflective of our values and works."
"Stopping illegal immigration must go hand in hand with reforming our creaky system of legal immigration," he says. "The question now is whether we will have the courage and the political will to pass a bill through Congress, to finally get it done."
Obama says he was pleased by a bill put forward by Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Schumer, and he adds that advocates and officials have all recognized to him the "importance of immigration reform." Religious communities also "share a sense of urgency," he says. (11:40 a.m.)
"The majority of Democrats are ready to move forward," Obama says, as is most of the United States. But a bill won't pass without Republican votes, he says. "Yes, this is an emotional question and one that lends itself to demagoguery," he adds.
Obama says he thinks lawmakers can "put politics aside" and appeal to people's hopes, not their fears. "That's who we are as Americans," he says. (11:42 a.m.)
Ending his address, Obama says it "falls on each generation" to ensure that the "beacon" of the United States' promise extends to immigrants. And that's it. (11:47 a.m.)
More from Obama's speech at American University, after the jump ...
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FROM THE TOP -- President Obama begins his immigration address at American University by thanking his openers and American University staff, plus elected officials and his Labor secretary, Hilda Solis.
Obama recalls a campaign speech he made at American University, when he said the country "had reached a tipping point."
"We now faced a choice," he says. "We could squarely confront our challenges with honesty and determination, or we could consign ourselves and our children to a future less prosperous and less secure."
He touches on financial regulations, saying the country is "on the verge" of passing new rules, and he says steps are being taken in clean energy. "Despite the forces of the status quo, despite the polarization and the frequent pettiness of our politics, we are confronting the great challenges of our times," he says. (11:16 a.m.)
President Obama says his administration won't "kick the can down the road" and that immigration legislation "is no exception." He says Arizona's new "controversial law" has provided a "source of fresh contention in our country."
"Some have rallied behind this new policy," he says. "Others have protested and launched boycotts of the state."
Obama recalls immigrants' contributions to American society and says they have created a "beacon of hope around the world" and allowed the United States to thrive. (11:19 a.m.)
Immigrants, President Obama says, "have always helped to build and defend this country." He adds that being an American is "not a matter of blood or birth. It's a matter of faith."
When the economy is sour, immigrants can feel oppressed, Obama says, recalling when some groups have been treated poorly in U.S. history. He cites a "failure" in Washington to fix the immigration system. Many undocumented workers "live in the shadows," he says, and are exploited by businesses or don't report crimes. In addition, "billions in tax revenue" are lost each year because wages aren't paid officially, he says.
"The legal immigration system is as broken as the borders," he says. "Backlogs and bureaucracy means the process can take years." (11:25 a.m.)
The system hasn't changed because of "special-interest wrangling" and a tendency to avoid "bad politics," Obama says. He recalls when he was a senator and worked with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. John McCain on an immigration bill that eventually fell apart. Some senators who have voted for changing the laws have "backed away," he says.
Arizona's law is "ill conceived," Obama says, even though it is understandable that the state felt it had to act, because Congress hadn't. The law unjustly allows officers to stop people for "what they look like or how they sound" and ask for their documentation, he says.
Congress must be "honest about the problem" and get "past the false debates" that divide the country, he says. (11:29 a.m.)
President Obama says an amnesty program to give illegal residents "legal status" is "unwise and unfair."
“Often this argument is framed in moral terms – why should we punish people who are just trying to earn a living," he says, calling it an “indiscriminate approach.”
Americans are skeptical of a "blanket amnesty" but also don't think 11 million undocumented people in the United States can realistically be deported, Obama says. Doing so would also "tear at the fabric of this nation," he says. (11:33 a.m.)
The border with Mexico is more secure now than it has been in 20 years, Obama says, adding that there's still "work to do." He says there are “more boots on the ground on the Southwest border than at any time in our history.”
He says he disagrees with those who say immigration shouldn't be dealt with until the borders are secured. "Our borders are just too vast for us to solve the problem with only fences and border patrols," he says. "It won't work." (11:35 a.m.)
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