Immigration reform: Why many GOP lawmakers applauded Obama speech

President Obama treaded carefully around immigration reform during his State of the Union message. Republican lawmakers took notice, with many appreciating his back-seat approach.

By David Grant,?Staff writer / February 13, 2013

President Obama gives his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday night.

Charles Dharapak/AP

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Rep. Kevin Brady (R) of Texas has some advice for President Obama on immigration reform: Easy does it.

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Mr. Obama seems to have anticipated Mr. Brady. During his State of the Union message Tuesday night, the president briefly outlined his proposals before passing immigration reform over to Congress. His approach to the issue, which has vexed several previous presidents and Congresses, was notably less strident than his calls for action on a range of other issues, from gun control to cybersecurity. ?

Obama's careful handling of immigration reform reflects a do-no-harm strategy that seems to recognize deep suspicions about his motives among many GOP lawmakers, such as Brady.

?I think the president will invariably make it harder for both sides to come together because he sort of likes baiting Republicans on this,? Brady said after the speech. ?If he wanted to see true immigration reform, he?d lock himself in the Oval Office until Congress got it done.?

Fellow Democrats, too, see the challenges facing Obama on immigration reform.

?He is in a difficult spot,? says Rep. John Yarmouth (D) of Kentucky, who is part of a House group working on bipartisan immigration legislation. ?It can?t be seen as an Obama plan, or Republicans won?t vote for it. I think he rightly said there are two bipartisan groups working on it, two bipartisan groups are going to advance plans and we should have a vote on that. And I think that?s the only way it can possibly become reality is that if it?s always perceived in both chambers as a bipartisan plan.?

But lying low cannot be easy for a president who promised immigration reform to the nation's Latino and Asian voters, who overwhelmingly backed Obama's reelection in November. Indeed, five undocumented immigrants were in the audience Tuesday night.

?It?s a Catch-22 for him,? Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, a leading Republican advocate in the House for immigration reform, said Tuesday night just outside the House chamber. ?If he talks too much about it, then it looks like he?s pushing his agenda down our throat. And if he doesn?t talk enough, then he gets criticized for that.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/EYaDd2cKdkU/Immigration-reform-Why-many-GOP-lawmakers-applauded-Obama-speech

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