Local Congressman Meets With President, Talks Immigration Reform

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with President Barack Obama Wednesday to discuss immigration reform.

"Passing comprehensive immigration reform now is critical for the 36th District and our nation," Ruiz said. "In our meeting with President Obama today, we discussed how we can build on the bipartisan work of the Senate and pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the House that includes an earned path to citizenship, secures our borders, promotes fairness, protects our workers and businesses, and helps strengthen our economy, especially our local agriculture and tourism economies in the 36th District."

The meeting came on the same day that the White House released a report saying passing immigration reforms would grow the economy by more than 3 percent by 2023 and reduce the deficit by almost $850 billion over the next 20 years.

House Speaker John Boehner, meanwhile, invited the 233 House Republicans to a meeting about the Senate bill, which would give legal status to 11 million undocumented immigrants and eventually let them apply for United States citizenship. The Senate passed the bill in June.

– City News Service.