As Cecilia Muñoz, director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, stated in an interview, Obama intends to develop a new course aimed at turning the migration process into an 'orderly system.' It is expected that the president will publicly present initiatives in this area in May, and in the summer will convene working groups with lawmakers from both parties to prepare a reform bill - possibly by autumn.
During his election campaign, Barack Obama promised to make immigration reform a policy priority in his first year in office, and Latino voters gave him significant support. According to estimates, the number of illegal immigrants in the US is about 12 million people, mostly from Mexico and other Latin American countries.
It is expected that Obama's plans will spark significant controversy in American society, which is struggling through the economic crisis. Republican opponents intend to mobilize public discontent over attempts to legalize foreign labor while unemployment has hit many Americans. As Lenta.ru notes, similar sentiments among voters previously, in 2007, led to the failure of an immigration reform bill.