Barack Obama, Immigration

OBAMA FOR USA. After taking office, Mr. Obama repeated a campaign pledge to offer a comprehensive bill on immigration before the end of 2009, appointing proponents like Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. But the deep recession, with millions of Americans losing jobs, dimmed the political prospects for efforts to increase immigration, and groups opposing legalization remained confident they could block any such proposal.

While acknowledging that the downturn can increase resistance on the issue, officials in the Obama administration said in March that the president was developing a set of policy proposals he would unveil in May. His plan would not add new workers to the work force, but it would recognize millions of illegal immigrants already working here.

In broad outlines, officials said, the Obama administration favors legislation that would bring illegal immigrants into the legal system by recognizing that they violated the law, and imposing fines and other penalties to fit the offense. The legislation would also seek to prevent future illegal immigration by strengthening border enforcement and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, while creating a national system for verifying the legal immigration status of new workers.

In a boost for Mr. Obama, two major labor federations, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the Change to Win federation, announced in April 2009 that they had agreed on a common approach to immigration reform. The accord endorses legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already in the country and opposes any large new program for employers to bring in temporary immigrant workers, officials of both federations said.