Immigration Reform News 2013: As Obama Drug Chief Calls Immigration Reform A Priority, More Conservative Groups Back Efforts

With critics citing security along the border as one of the key things needed to be fixed before Washington can pass comprehensive immigration reform laws, the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said Thursday that reforming immigration is a priority in terms of public safety.

Gil Kerlikowske, who heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy, pointed out that immigration reform is important because the security of the border affects more than just Arizona.

"I pretty quickly realized, exactly as the mayors just said, the border isn't just in Arizona or Texas, whether it's in Seattle, Chicago or Denver dealing with these issues," he said, as reported by Arizona news site KTAR.

With the debate on immigration reform continuing in Washington, legislators such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have stated that they want to see the border secured properly first before they consider granting a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. as part of immigration reform. The bill that a bipartisan panel from the Senate is working on is said to call for stronger border security measures.

Kerlikowske said that he has seen an improvement in communication between local, state and federal governments as well as their counterparts in Mexico.

As he met with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and the mayors of Surprise and Avondale, two other border towns in Arizona, Kerlikowske pointed out that there have been declines in cocaine and methamphetamine use in the U.S. and that his department has increased drug seizures along the border "significantly."

Because the border has become a front for drug trade, Kerlikowske , who has had experience in local law enforcement, said it was important for immigration reform to pass, noting that the current immigration laws in the nation do little to enhance the safety of the public.

"It's a tough issue," Stanton said. "There are a lot of different aspects on it, but we can't let the differences in defining border security prevent us from accomplishing this goal."

"The president has made it very clear that all of the senior policy advisers in the White House have an obligation to work on - and this goes back to my law enforcement experience of nearly four decades - an immigration system that's broken," he added.

Meanwhile, more steam has been getting behind the push for immigration reform as other groups are joining the fight.

As Politico notes, groups have been spending money on TV ads and mobilizing grassroots support in order to get a bill that would reform the nation's immigration laws done this year.

With legislators due to return to Washington from a two-week recess later this month, it is possible that the bipartisan panel could have a bill ready to vote on within the month. That has led groups such as Americans for Tax Reform, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Leadership Forum to get involved, with the forum having aired television ads in support of immigration reform in March and a new ad campaign due to come out in the next few months.

"We believe immigration reform is a conservative issue and we're heartened to see a significantly improved dialogue and growing conservative support base," Jennifer Korn, the group's executive director and former director of Hispanic affairs for the Bush administration, told Politico.

Korn has met several times with House Republicans to explain how passing immigration reform could make a positive impact on the nation.