On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States. His election marked a turning point in American history. An African American man had been elected president of a country that had ended officially sanctioned racial discrimination only a few decades earlier. No less noteworthy is President Obama's heritage as the son of an African immigrant. Only six presidents have had parents who came as immigrants to the United States. None came from non-European heritage.

On June 25, 2009, President Obama hosted a summit with congressional leaders to lay out the contours of immigration reform. The president described the areas of agreement during his remarks after the meeting: “I think the consensus is that despite our inability to get [immigration reform] passed over the last several years, the American people still want to see a solution in which we are tightening up our borders, or cracking down on employers who are using illegal workers in order to drive down wages – and oftentimes mistreat those workers. And we need an effective way to recognize and legalize the status of undocumented workers who are here.” Members of Congress made clear, as in previous efforts at reform, the battle will be over the details.