The US needs a comprehensive reform system functional both for dealing with legal and illegal immigration in the country, the White House has said.
It refused to side with lawmakers who are seeking to put the ongoing reforms on hold in the wake of the Boston marathon bombings.
“We need an effective comprehensive immigration system that is functional both for dealing with legal immigration, as well as dealing with the 11 million illegal immigrants who are in this country,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his news conference yesterday.
“We believe that we need to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform for a whole host of reasons and the benefits that reform will provide to our country, to our economy, to our security,” he said.
Boston bombings
He said when asked about the questions being raised by some lawmakers on the need for an immigration reform in the aftermath of the Boston bombings, in which two immigrant brothers from Chechnya were allegedly involved in the terrorist attack that killed three people and injured about 200.
“We agree with those co-authors of the legislation in the Senate who have made the point in recent days that enhancing our security is one of the reasons why we should press forward with comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
When asked about the Boston bombing suspects, Carney said the fact is that comprehensive immigration reform, as anybody who has looked into it and can attest, would enhance US security.
“I’m not making any assertions about this case with regards to immigration reform. I’m simply saying that our nation will be more secure if we enact comprehensive immigration reform, that there is a national security benefit from implementing this legislation,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Republican Senator Rand Paul in a letter to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called for halting the debate on immigration reform in the wake of the terrorist attack in Boston last week.