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Congress’s distrust of Obama is obstacle for immigration reform

WASHINGTON — A major obstacle to immigration reform is Congress’ “distrust” of President Obama, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Sunday.

“There’s a real question of trust here, and . . . the White House continues to really thumb its nose up, if you will, at the Congress,” Cantor (R-Va.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Cantor said Republicans don’t trust Obama to secure the borders, which is a central feature of House GOP proposals to grant legal status — but not citizenship — to illegal immigrants.

“This goes back to the distrust,” he said.

Cantor pointed to what he called Obama’s decisions to “selectively enforce” parts of ObamaCare as a reason not to trust him.

“The president has got to demonstrate, frankly, the country and the Congress can trust him in implementing the laws,” he said.

Also on the show, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough called the GOP proposals “an important first step” but reaffirmed Obama’s commitment to a path to citizenship.

“We don’t want to have a permanent separation of classes or two permanent different classes of Americans in this country,” he said. “We’re just not going to live with that.”