President, top Senate Democrats huddle on immigration reform

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met Wednesday at the White House with Senate Democrats for a strategy session to help shepherd a comprehensive immigration bill through Congress.

"The president thanked the senators for their work to date and told them that while he was pleased with the progress, he expects the process to continue to move forward and stands ready to introduce his own legislation if Congress fails to act," a White House official said.

Obama, Biden, and top administration officials met with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) — all members of a bipartisan group that outlined the framework for a potential deal last month.

The White House said that at the meeting, Obama "reiterated the key principles he believes must be a part of any bipartisan, commonsense effort, including continuing to strengthen border security" — a key sticking point in Senate negotiations.

The White House has objected to a Republican plan that would precondition a so-called pathway to citizenship for the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants on additional border security measures. Democrats have said that while they remain committed to improving border security, they fear leaving the process in limbo.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama said "the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

"Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally," Obama said. "And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy."

Following the address, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) — expected to be a shepherd of immigration legislation in the Republican House — told CBS News that he thought a deal could be done if Democrats were willing to concede some points.

"As long as the president and his party don't draw a red line and say that they have to get everything that they want," Labrador said.

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