Obama pledges support for Schumer, Graham on immigration

President Barack Obama vowed to continue partnering with congressional leaders on comprehensive immigration reform.

Obama, after a meeting yesterday with Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who are working to craft a comprehensive immigration bill, pledged support for the senators and other leaders to craft an immigration reform bill.

"I met with Senators Schumer and Graham and was pleased to learn of their progress in forging a proposal to fix our broken immigration system," Obama said in a statement following the meeting. "I look forward to reviewing their promising framework, and every American should applaud their efforts to reach across party lines and find commonsense answers to one of our most vexing problems."

Schumer and Graham have been working to put together a bill to win bipartisan support, upon which some congressional leaders have hoped to move this year.  An overhaul of the U.S. immigration laws has for years been a high priority for technology companies that say they need more H-1B visas and green-cards to hire high-skilled workers and keep the industry competitive on a global scale.

Obama said that he's optimistic that a coalition of grassroots groups was "building momentum" for reform, and said he'd partner with Schumer, Graham, and community leaders going forward.

"I told both the Senators and the community leaders that my commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering, and that I will continue to be their partner in this important effort," the president said.

Cross-posted on Blog Briefing Room