As he makes his case for major immigration changes, President Obama is turning to a forum he used effectively during his two presidential campaigns: the Hispanic media.
In two interviews this week — one with Univision and another with Telemundo — Mr. Obama pledged to press Congress to pass a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system before the year’s end.
“I am happy to meet with anybody, any time, anywhere to make sure that this thing happens,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with José Díaz-Balart on Telemundo.
In a separate interview with Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas on Univision, the president said he was not going to “lay down a particular date” by which Congress must act. But he made clear he won’t wait too long.
“I want to give them a little bit of room to debate,” Mr. Obama said. “If it slips a week, that’s one thing. If it starts slipping three months, that’s a problem.”
Mr. Obama’s appearance on the two networks is an extension of his campaign’s aggressive outreach to the Hispanic community during the 2012 presidential race. His campaign spent heavily on Spanish-language advertisements to win Hispanic votes. He granted an interview to Telemundo just a week after accepting the nomination in September.
Getting an immigration overhaul through a reluctant Congress, especially the House, will require Mr. Obama to persuade lawmakers and voters beyond the Hispanic community. His aides are working to build support in rural, white communities where opposition to illegal immigration is strong.
But putting the president in front of a largely Hispanic audience could also help to convince that community that he has made a concerted effort to push through immigration changes, even if the effort gets bogged down in the Congress. Hispanic supporters of the president have expressed deep disappointment that he didn’t push for changes in his first term.
The interviews could also help the president respond to lingering anger among many Hispanics that he has moved too aggressively to deport illegal immigrants during his first term. Questions about his deportation policy came up in both interviews.
“You know, when it comes to enforcement of our immigration laws, we’ve got some discretion,” Mr. Obama told Telemundo. “We can prioritize what we do. But we can’t simply ignore the law.”
The deportation issue was also raised during a “Fireside Chat” that the White House organized on the Internet on Thursday. Cecilia Muñoz, the president’s top domestic policy adviser, who is one of the White House officials in charge of the immigration effort, joined in a video chat with Latino and immigrant advocates, seeking to rally groups who will provide support from the ground for Mr. Obama’s overhaul.
By invitation from the White House, the chat was moderated by Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist born in the Philippines who has revealed publicly that he is in this country illegally. Mr. Vargas, who has become an immigrant rights activist, questioned Ms. Muñoz about the high number of deportations during Mr. Obama’s first term.
Like the president, Ms. Munoz responded that the administration has no choice but to follow the current law, and said that is part of the motivation for broad immigration changes that would give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
The Internet event was unusual in that it had visible participation by an immigrant without legal status in a White House activity.
But it was further evidence that the White House is eager to reach all parts of the Hispanic community as it campaigns for immigration legislation in Congress. In the interview with Univision, Mr. Obama said he thought the politics of the issue was ripe for success.
“I’m going to keep on pushing as hard as I can,” Mr. Obama said, perhaps signaling more conversations with Hispanic supporters in the near future. “I believe that the mood is right.”