Even those who are the most critical of President Barack Obama have to admit that he has fulfilled most of the promises he made during the campaign. In his first 100 days he has confronted the banking crisis; lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the rich. As well, the President has sat down with his counterparts from other countries who have been constantly critical of the United States; he has set the date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and increased the number of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

The President could already change the refrain we heard so often during the campaign, "Yes, we can," to one that would reflect his administration's fulfillment of his promises. And he has done what he said he would, in almost every area, with the exception of an immigration reform law, which, he said, would have a high priority in his administration.

It is easy to understand the reasons why President Obama's administration has vacillated with regard to the question of immigration. Politically, it is a very vexing problem. On the one hand, there are those people who blame undocumented immigrants for all the problems the country is experiencing – it was precisely those incessant yelps against immigrants that brought so many problems for the Republican Party among Hispanic voters. And even with some Democrats in Congress the question is a problematic one – they are very well aware it is the kind of problem that can cost anyone an election.

While still a candidate, Obama said he would back a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to achieve U.S. citizenship once they paid a fine for having entered the country illegally, and once the government was sure that it controlled the border with Mexico, in order to prevent more undocumented immigrants from entering.

There is more. In a speech on April 8th, President Obama said he would push Congress to pass an immigration reform bill, which was one of his "priorities." He said, "We will begin to confront the problems of immigration this year." Nonetheless, Obama did not set a date for his appeal to Congress, nor has he been as insistent on this subject as he has been on other problems, which to him are more important.

The President understands that there are large differences of opinion in the congressional discussion of this question and that they are not due to partisanship.

If President Obama were to pressure Congress, he could very probably count on the support of some Republicans, such as his rival in November, Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Such support could give him enough of a majority to get an immigration law through Congress that would be fair to the undocumented.

But the repercussions of moving too quickly on this question worry the Democratic Party's principal advisors. His stance in defense of immigrants helped Obama win the presidential election in states like New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. But this same position possibly cost him victories in states like North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio, where there are large pools of unemployed workers who resent the presence of undocumented immigrants in the country.

Faced with these issues, one sees why President Obama's government will not push too hard to make Congress take up the problem of immigration reform. They may begin to take lukewarm measures, such as requesting $27 million to control the border. While the government considers the border with Mexico not to be well secured, it is difficult to imagine that they will make strong moves with respect to an immigration reform law.