President Barack Obama laid out his plan for revamping the U.S. immigration system Tuesday and praised a proposal by a bipartisan group of eight senators, calling their efforts encouraging and prodding Congress to act.
"I'm here today because the time has come for common sense, comprehensive immigration reform," Mr. Obama told a crowd at a high school in Las Vegas. "Now's the time," he said repeatedly.
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Close ReutersObama delivers remarks Tuesday on immigration policy at a high school in Las Vegas.
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Overhauling the nation's immigration system has gained momentum in recent days, as the senators' plan for offering a path to citizenship for many of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants drew support from business leaders, labor groups and now Mr. Obama. The president has made immigration one of the top priorities of his second term, but his call for action would go nowhere without Republican support.
"The good news is that for the first time in many years Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together," he said. "At this moment, it looks like there's a genuine desire to get this done soon. And that's very encouraging."
He detailed his own plan for overhauling the system. It includes tightening border security, strengthening an employment verification system and streamlining the legal immigration process. The plan unveiled Monday by the group of Democratic and Republican senators, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), includes similar proposals.
Their plan would allow most people in the country illegally to qualify for a probationary legal status, provided they register with the government, pass a background check and pay a fine and any back taxes. Those with criminal records or who pose a threat to the U.S. would be subject to deportation.
Both plans include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Mr. Obama said he hopes his own plan would provide markers for Congress going forward. He also warned that if Congress failed to act, he'd introduce his own plan and "insist" that it be voted on. "We can't let immigration reform to get bogged down in endless debate."
"Remember that this is not just a debate about policy,"he said. "It's about people. It's about men and women and young people who want nothing more than the chance to earn their way into the American story."
Mr. Obama pitched his plan as an economic imperative. He said companies such as Intel Corp., Google Inc. and Instagram were started by immigrants. But current immigration rules turn away too many immigrants who studied at U.S. universities and want to stay, he said.
"That's not how you grow new industries in America. That's how you give new industries to our competitors," Mr. Obama said, mentioning Mexico, India and China.
The Senate group's plan differs from Mr. Obama's plan in one fundamental way. His proposal wouldn't require that the country's border with Mexico be deemed secure before granting citizenship to those in the U.S. illegally. Administration officials suggested that Mr. Obama may not support such a condition, and the White House has been quick to say that the administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to securing the border.
While Republicans have welcomed the plan or withheld judgment to let the process continue, others have warned Mr. Obama not to make it a partisan political fight.
"There are a lot of ideas about how best to fix our broken immigration system," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), following the president's speech. "Any solution should be a bipartisan one, and we hope the president is careful not to drag the debate to the left and ultimately disrupt the difficult work that is ahead in the House and Senate."
—Neal King Jr. contributed to this article.Write to Jared A. Favole at jared.favole@dowjones.com
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