Skip to main content
Saturday, October 31, 2026Oct 31
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Obama touts immigration reform in speech to Hispanic leaders

President Barack Obama speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s (CHCI) 38th Anniversary awards gala in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The gala is the signature event in its Hispanic Heritage Month list of events that include the Public Policy Conference. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s (CHCI) 38th Anniversary awards gala in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The gala is the signature event in its Hispanic Heritage Month list of events that include the Public Policy Conference. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) President Barack Obama speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s (CHCI) 38th Anniversary awards gala in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The gala is the signature event in its Hispanic Heritage Month list of events that include the Public Policy Conference. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By Associated Press 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is promising Hispanic leaders he’ll continue to push for changes in the nation’s immigration laws, saying America’s greatness does not come from building walls, but from building opportunities.

Obama is using the speech to highlight differences with several of the Republican presidential candidates on the issue.

He says he wishes GOP lawmakers had followed the leadership of former President W. Bush when he sought changes that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

While immigration reform is not going to happen in the current Congress, the issue will help define the 2016 elections.

The president was speaking Thursday at an awards dinner for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, which seeks to open the halls of Congress to more Latinos.