Obama team praises immigration fast

President Obama and his team are lending support to a group that is staging a public fast in Washington, D.C., seeking to pressure Congress into passing an immigration bill.

First lady Michelle Obama tweeted on Tuesday: "As families begin to gather for Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of the brave #Fast4Families immigration reform advocates. We're with you. -mo."

During his immigration speech Monday in San Francisco, Obama said, "right now, I'm seeing brave advocates who have been fasting for two weeks in the shadow of the Capitol, sacrificing themselves in an effort to get Congress to act."

In recent days, Vice President Joe Biden has visited the Fast for Families site on the National Mall, as have top Obama aides Valerie Jarrett and Cecilia Munoz, as well as other government officials.

In his speech, Obama singled out one leader — Eliseo Medina, international secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union — as well as the other fasters.

"I want them to know we hear you," the president said. "We're with you. The whole country hears you."