Chicago (CNN) -- President Barack Obama traveled to his adopted hometown of Chicago on Tuesday to continue his week-long campaign of garnering support for his executive action on immigration reform, but he led his speech by remarking on the deadly riots in Ferguson.
"The frustrations that
we've seen are not just about a particular incident. They have deep
roots in many communities of color who have a sense that our laws are
not being enforced uniformly or fairly," the President said.
Moving on to the
immigration issue, Obama touched on the reasons he signed the executive
order last week that would allow millions of immigrants to stay in the
country. He also made the argument that if Congress wants to repeal his
orders, they should just, "pass a bill."
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He referred to the
bipartisan bill that passed the Senate, but has little hope of being
brought up in the Republican-controlled House, saying, "A year and a
half ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to fix this system."
"We would have doubled
the number of border patrol agents," Obama said. "We would have made our
legal immigration system smarter and fairer. It would have given
millions of people the right to earn their citizenship."
But, he added, "For a year and a half, Republican leaders in the House simply would not allow a vote."
The President reiterated
that this executive action is just the beginning of the change he would
like to see and that he believes his actions are legal, adding that both
Presidents Reagan and Bush issued executive orders on the immigration
issue.
Obama was briefly interrupted by three immigration activists who heckled him, calling him the "deporter-in-chief."
"It doesn't make sense
to yell at me right now," he said. "What you're not paying attention to
is, I just took an action to change the law."
His address was held at
the Copernicus Community Center, which is in a predominantly
Polish-American community on the north side of the city. Before the
President spoke, reporters overheard many of the attendees conversing
and ordering refreshments in Polish.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn were also in the audience.