President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama: WASHINGTON - A sweeping immigration bill in the Senate ran into criticism Tuesday from advocates who complained it puts up undue barriers to citizenship for millions here illegally. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Immigrants would also have to pay $2,000 in fines and hundreds more in fees along the bill's 13-year path to citizenship, and meet income and employment requirements designed to ensure they have resources above 125 per cent of the federal poverty line and won't need to draw on public welfare programs. President Barack Obama answering questions during his new conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. The president brushed aside the suggestion he's lost political clout, saying "rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated." AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais Officials from several immigrant rights' groups and the Catholic church held a conference call to highlight their concerns about the bill, including a cutoff date that excludes people who arrived here after 2011, and provisions disqualifying anyone with a felony conviction or more than two misdemeanours. President Barack Obama praised the Senate bill generally, though he said he would prefer to see some changes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.