Immigration Reform News: Obama Still Waiting on Immigration Bill, Tells Democrats He Is "Very Positive" On Reform Chances

As the debate on immigration reform continues, President Obama is "urgently awaiting" the bill that will bring about comprehensive immigration reform that is being worked on by the "Gang of Eight" bipartisan Senate panel.

However, Department of Homeland Janet Napolitano, who spoke about the Obama administration's position on the immigration bill Tuesday, added that critics who are trying to separate border security from the immigration bill package are attempting to stall the bill with such arguments.

Speaking at a panel meeting at the Bational League of Cities conference in Washington D.C. Tuesday, repeated her previous position on border security, telling city officials that the federal government had beefed up border security to never-before seen levels that have included more patrol agents and better technology that has resulted in fewer undocumented immigrants crossing the border than in decades past.

With that in mind, Napolitano, who noted that illegal immigration numbers are at 40-year lows, said that arguing that border security was an issue seemed like a way for critics to attempt to sidestep dealing with immigration.

"The notion that we have to secure our border first is kind of another way of saying 'we don't really want to deal with immigration reform,' right?" Napolitano said during the meeting. "We keep moving that goalpost."

Napolitano added that President Obama was still waiting on the immigration bill from the bipartisan panel, which has been coming to terms recently on critical parts of the bill including a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants.

"He is urgently awaiting the product that emerges, hopefully sooner rather than later," she said.

President Obama spoke with Senate Democrats at a meeting Tuesday about immigration reform, along with other topics such as the budget, drones and foreign policy.

One Democrat, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the president largely spoke about the need for both parties to come together on those issues. However, he noted, Obama was optimistic regarding the chances for immigration reform to be passed soon.

"I think he was very positive. He thinks we're making good movement on immigration, and I think he feels very positive that we're actually going to a good immigration bill," Harkin told the Daily Caller.