El Pais, News Report, Posted: Jun 04, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer met for 30 minutes at the White House on Thursday, but the two were unable to reconcile their positions on immigration policy, reports the Spanish-language daily newspaper, El Pais. Although both politicians agreed to seek a bi-partisan solution to the issue of border security and immigration reform, they left their meeting at the oval office with no clear plan of action.

Brewer has insisted that the federal government support the completion of a border fence in Arizona before any national immigration reform legislation is adopted, arguing that the security concerns of U.S. citizens should be addressed before issues relating to undocumented immigrants.

For his part, Obama reiterated his concern over SB 1070 legislation adopted in Arizona, saying it could result in discrimination against anyone who looks Latino, whether or not they are undocumented. The president also said the responsibility of solving the issue of illegal immigration should be left to the federal government, a task that will only become more complicated if other states begin to enact their own immigration policies.