President to Push Immigration Reform Bill this Year

The push for immigration reform would echo one of Obama's campaign pledges, though its success is uncertain in a tough economic climate.

Administration officials tell the Times that Obama plans to speak publicly about the issue in May and will press lawmakers from both parties to begin discussing legislation by the fall.

The goal will be "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House's intergovernmental affairs, told the Times. "He intends to start the debate this year."

However, the new push for immigration reform would come in the wake of the failure two years ago of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act. That bill received criticism from both sides of the immigration debate, despite being portrayed as a compromise between legalization of illegal immigrants and increased border enforcement. 

During Obama's campaign, he pledged to "bring people out of the shadows" through a system that would allow the 12 million undocumented immigrants to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line in the citizenship process.

"Opponents, mainly Republicans, say they will seek to mobilize popular outrage against any effort to legalize unauthorized immigrant workers while so many Americans are out of jobs," the Times said.