WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Democrats lack enough Republican votes to pass U.S. immigration reform and the White House is reluctant to press ahead without bipartisan support, CNN reports.
Democrats are trying to win over some Republicans in the quest to introduce immigration reform legislation in the Senate before taking up a Supreme Court nomination this summer, the report said.
Latino voters, who turned out in high numbers for Democrats in 2008, say they're upset Democrats have yet to deal with immigration reform. The issue is critical in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bid to win re-election in Nevada, where a quarter of the population is Hispanic.
CNN's report came as civil rights advocates promised Saturday to challenge Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigration. Critics say it will lead to racial profiling of Hispanics.
Protesters, along with some counter-protesters, took to the streets Saturday, the day after Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law the nation's toughest immigration bill.
President Barack Obama said he told his administration "to closely monitor the situation" in Arizona and "examine the civil rights and other implications'' of the Arizona legislation. Arizona's "misguided effort" demonstrates the need for national immigration reform, the president said at a naturalization ceremony at the White House Friday.
"Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others," Obama said. "And that includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.''
No reform bill has made it out of committee in the Senate but CNN said Democratic reform legislation likely would stress border security and enforcement, along with a path to legal status for undocumented workers.
