Obama calls immigration reform critical, blasts GOP opponents

By Alan Silverleib, CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama heads to El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday to give a speech on the need for comprehensive immigration reform - a perennial hot-button political issue that both Democrats and Republicans hope to use to their advantage in 2012.

Video: Dan Lothian's report on President Obama's El Paso visit

Obama has held a series of meetings with key Latino officials and reform advocates in recent weeks. Despite an aggressive push for substantive policy changes from his political base, the president recently indicated he has ruled out acting on his own to implement provisions of a reform bill that failed to win congressional approval last year.

Nevertheless, immigration reform "remains a priority" for the administration, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. There has been bipartisan support for reform in the past, Carney noted, and "we think we can build support for it again in the future."

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