The White House insisted that the Republicans are the ones who blocked immigration reform and that "the door remains open" to negotiate, but did not reveal a legislative strategy to reopen the dialogue.
During his third and last State of the Union of his first term, President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform and said that Congress should at least pass the DREAM Act to legalize undocumented students.
Immigration has emerged as an election issue and the two major contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, have suggested they would support the DREAM Act only if given to those who sign up in the U.S. Armed Forces
During a conference call with Spanish media, Cecilia Muñoz, the new director of Internal Policy Council of the White House, said that Obama is willing to hold a dialogue "with anyone in the Congress" on the matter.
Asked whether Obama would accept a partial agreement, such as that suggested Romney and Gingrich, Muñoz said that Obama supports the current version of the DREAM Act, which permit the legalization of those who entered the U.S. before age 16, meet at least two years of college or enlist in the armed forces.