Obama uses Cinco de Mayo celebration to push for an overhaul of immigration laws

5/5/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Obama-Cinco-de-Mayo

    President Barack Obama speaks at a celebration of Cinco de Mayo in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is telling Latino lawmakers and Hispanic advocates that they should press House Republicans to act on a broad overhaul of immigration laws.

    “Tell them to get on board,” the president said.

    Obama was observing the Mexican national holiday of Cinco de Mayo, or fifth of May, in the White House today. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are using the day’s celebration to pressure House Republicans to follow up on legislation that passed the Senate last year.

    The Senate bill would expand border security and provide a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Earlier today, Biden said those immigrants shared American values. Biden says, quote, “They may not be citizens, but they are Americans.”