Obama Passes Immigration Buck to Congress

He still treats the border like kryptonite.

After meeting in Dallas today with Gov. Rick Perry, local elected officials, and faith leaders to discuss the crisis of unaccompanied minors coming across the US border, President Obama urged Congress to quickly approve his request for more funding and to ultimately pass immigration reform.

"Congress has the capacity to act," Obama said in Dallas.

Perry had urged Obama to visit the Rio Grande Valley but reportedly declined an initial offer to greet the president for a quick handshake on the tarmac unless Obama was also willing to have a substantive meeting.

The text of the president's full speech is here. His split-the-difference proposal included:

Yesterday, I asked Congress to fund these efforts.  About half of the resources would go to border security, enforcement, and expedited removal of people who don't qualify for a humanitarian claim.  About half would go to make sure we're treating children humanely.