FIRST 100 DAYS

Immigration Back on the Agenda

Obama looks to bring illegal aliens out of the shadows.

Despite an economic crisis at home and two wars abroad demanding immediate attention, President Obama is not shying away from following through on campaign promises early in his presidency. The latest issue heading to the policy front burner: immigration reform. Previous efforts by former President Bush and Congress to create a guest worker program and a path for illegal immigrants to become legal have failed, creating political uproar along the way. An Obama aide told The New York Times that the White House would frame the issue as "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," and seek legislation as early this fall. Opponents of the plan say they expect to get a boost from rising unemployment, which could increase fears that immigrants will take American jobs.