The White House Blog

America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country. We must come together on a plan that requires responsibility from everyone —both from the workers who came here illegally and those who hire them—and guarantees that everyone is playing by the same rules.

Together we can build a fair, effective and common-sense immigration system that strengthens our economy and the middle class. As the President has made clear, any effort must include continuing to strengthen border security, creating an earned path to citizenship, holding employers accountable, and streamlining legal immigration.

Folks on both side of the aisle agree that we need to work together to bring millions of undocumented individuals out of the shadow economy and provide U.S. businesses with a stronger, legal workforce so we can better compete in the 21st century global economy.

It’s clear commonsense immigration reform is good for the economy as a whole. Don’t take our word for it – study after study has shown that commonsense immigration reform will strengthen the economy, spur innovation and increase US trade and exports.

Ed. Note: This post is part of our Sunshine Week series on the blog. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to celebrate and focus on government transparency and open government. Macon Phillips will also discuss We the People in a Yahoo! News Chat today at 12:30 PM ET. 

We have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and the wisdom, energy, and creativity of the American public is the nation’s greatest asset. Sunshine Week seeks to encourage public participation in government, and the U.S. has worked hard to expand opportunities for civic engagement. As one example of this, We the People gives the Obama Administration a way to connect with the public on the issues that matter most to them. 

We the People allows anyone to create or sign a petition asking the Administration to take action on an issue. If the petition gets enough signatures, the Administration issues an official response.

Since its creation, 7.2 million people have logged more than 11.6 million signatures on more than 178,000 petitions on issues ranging from education to immigration to tax policy.

Today, President Obama stopped by a meeting of his Export Council, a group of business executives and government leaders who advise him on trade and export issues.

“The good news is we are well on our way to meeting a very ambitious goal that we set several years ago to double U.S. exports,” President Obama said. “The question now becomes how do we sustain this momentum?”

Part of that means building on progress that put strong trade deals in place, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which “sets a high bar that ensures that trade is fair and free,” the President said.

“And for those of us who abide by high labor standards and high environmental standards, obviously being able to lock in those kinds of high standards in the fastest-growing region of the world and the most populous region of the world can yield enormous benefits and help to generate billions of dollars in trade and millions of jobs.”

President Obama also discussed expanding trade with Europe through efforts to lock in the EU-U.S trade deal he announced in his State of the Union Address.

Each generation of Americans embraces the belief that no problem is too big for a determined group of people to conquer. This challenge is central to national service, which gives thousands of Americans a chance to unite with like-minded people and work toward improving the lives of our most-vulnerable citizens.

Each year, we take time to honor this American tradition of service as we mark AmeriCorps Week.

During this week, March 9^th – 17^th, we salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their service, thank AmeriCorps community partners, and communicate AmeriCorps’ impact on communities and on the lives of those who serve.

Since 1994, more than 800,000 AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1 billion hours in service to others across America. Currently, more than 75,000 AmeriCorps members are touching the lives of millions as they tackle challenges that improve lives, strengthen communities, expand economic opportunity, and bolster civic and faith-based organizations. 

AmeriCorps may be one of America’s best assets, with members making an impact through organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Public Allies, and Teach for America. In addition, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and VISTA, the longtime anti-poverty program, are transforming communities every day.

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Let's Move! website. You can see that post here. Update: This live event has concluded. You can see the full Q&A here.

Tomorrow at 11:05ET, I'll answer some questions about @letsmove & how we can improve the health of our kids. Join with #AskFLOTUS ­mo

— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) March 10, 2013

To celebrate the third anniversary of Let’s Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama traveled around the country to highlight healthy changes being made in schools, towns and businesses across America.

Tomorrow, we're continuing the celebration on Twitter to discuss the First Lady's initiative to ensure that all our children grow up healthy and reach their full potential.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry honor the recipients of the International Women of Courage Award in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., March 8, 2013. Seated, from left, are: awardee Malalai Bahaduri, First Sergeant, Afghan National Interdiction Unit, Afghanistan; awardee Julieta Castellanos, Rector, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Honduras; awardee Dr. Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin, President, Campaign for Democracy, Nigeria; Secretary of State John Kerry; Teresa Heinz Kerry, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman; awardee Elena Milashina, journalist and human rights activist, Russia; and awardee Fartuun Adan, Executive Director, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, Somalia. Awarded in absentia were Tsering Woeser (Wei Se), Tibetan author, poet, blogger, China; Razan Zeitunah, human rights lawyer and Founder, Local Coordination Committees,Syria; Ta Phong Tan, blogger,Vietnam; and Nirbhaya “Fearless,” champion for justice, India. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry marked International Women's Day at the State Department where they presented the International Women of Courage Awards to nine remarkable women who, as Mrs. Obama said in her remarks, show us what our most basic values look like when they are put to the test.

When these women witnessed horrific crimes or the disregard for basic human rights they spoke up, risking everything they had to see that justice was done.  When they saw their communities or their countries were ignoring issues like sexual violence or women’s rights, they gave those issues a face and a voice.  And with every act of strength and defiance, with every blog post, with every community meeting, these women have inspired millions to stand with them, and find their own voices, and work together to achieve real and lasting change. 

Watch the West Wing Week here.

Violence Against Women Act: On Thursday, President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act of 2013, which provides resources for thousands of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The renewed version of the law extends to protect LGBT victims, immigrants, Native Americans, and victims of sex-trafficking. The act will ensure victims and survivors will have the resources they need. With survivors and advocates standing behind him President Obama recognized the significance of the day:

But everybody on this stage worked extraordinarily hard. Most of all, though, this is your day. This is the day of the advocates; the day of the survivors. This is your victory.

• Watch President Obama and Vice President Biden deliver remarks at the signing.
• Read the remarks by President Obama and Vice President Biden here.

First Cabinet Meeting: On Monday, President Obama opened the 17^th Cabinet meeting of his presidency and the first of the new term. The President welcomed to the table his newest cabinet members, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. In his remarks, President Obama shared his deep concerns of the harmful and automatic budget cuts known as the sequester and advocated for bipartisan solutions so Americans can be poised for progress:

So one of the things that I’ve instructed not just my White House but every agency is to make sure that, regardless of some of the challenges that they may face because of sequestration, we’re not going to stop working on behalf of the American people to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to continue to grow this economy and improve people’s prospects.

In October 2011, President Obama nominated Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Judge Shwartz is widely respected, having earned the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association – “unanimous well qualified” -- and has bipartisan support, including from Governor Chris Christie, who has praised her as “hard working, bright, articulate, great with people and conversant in the law.”  And yet, today marks the one year anniversary since Judge Shwartz has been waiting for a floor vote in the United States Senate.

Unfortunately, the delay for Judge Shwartz is not unique. Last week, my colleague wrote about Judge Robert Bacharach, who was recommended to the White House by one of his Republican home state Senators, but waited 263 days for a floor vote before being confirmed 93-0. And on Monday – after 347 days of delay -- the Senate will consider the nomination of Richard Taranto to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Overall, President Obama’s judicial nominees wait an average of 117 days on the Senate floor for a vote -- more than three times longer than President Bush’s judicial nominees, who waited an average of only 34 days.  The Senate must promote the administration of justice by returning to the prompt consideration of judicial nominations. It should consider Judge Shwartz’s nomination without further delay, as well as the fifteen district court nominees awaiting votes. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved five district court nominees. There is no reason they – and the others approved before them – should not be confirmed within 34 days.

While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides evidence that the recovery that began in mid-2009 is gaining traction. Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that private sector businesses added 246,000 jobs in February. Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 236,000 jobs last month. The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for three straight years, and a total of 6.35 million jobs have been added over that period.

The household survey showed that the unemployment rate fell from 7.9 percent in January to 7.7 percent in February, the lowest since December 2008. The labor force participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 63.5 percent in February.

It is important to bear in mind that the reference period for today’s surveys was the week of February 10-16 for the household survey and the pay period containing February 12th for the establishment survey, both of which were before sequestration began.  The Administration continues to urge Congress to move toward a sustainable Federal budget in a responsible way that balances tax loophole closing, entitlement reform, and sensible spending cuts, while making critical investments in the economy that promote growth and job creation and protecting our most vulnerable citizens.