WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sharpened his critique Wednesday of Arizona’s tough new immigration law and called on Republicans to join him in overhauling the nation’s immigration system.
In a joint news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Obama said the Arizona law had the potential to be used in a discriminatory fashion.
Calderón flatly rejected the Arizona law, saying it criminalized immigrants. He promised to work with the United States to resolve the complex issue.
“We can do so if we create a safer border, a border that will unite us instead of dividing us,” he said.
Obama said he had ordered a Justice Department review to see if the law violates federal civil rights statues. Nobody, he declared, “be they an American citizen, a legal immigrant, or a visitor or tourist from Mexico, should ever be subject to suspicion simply because of what they look like.”
Full story: Obama, Calderón blast immigration law | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle