Obama condemns Arizona law

Obama has stepped up his criticism of Arizona's controversial immigration law, calling it "misdirected" and warning that it has the potential to be applied in a discriminatory fashion.

In a showy display of solidarity, President Barack Obama welcomed Mexican President Felipe Calderon to the White House on Wednesday, pledging cooperation on immigration, a violent drug war and economic struggles on both sides of the border.

President Felipe Calderon hit out at "discrimination" against Mexican immigrants in Arizona, as the row over the state's draconian new immigration law risked overshadowing his US visit.

"Despite their enormous contribution to the economy and society of the United States," Calderon said, millions of immigrants "still live in the shadows, and at times, like in Arizona, even face patterns of discrimination", said Calderon.

Calderon made his comments standing alongside President Barack Obama as he was welcomed at a red-carpet White House ceremony full of pomp and pageantry, before official talks behind closed doors.

"I think the Arizona law has the potential of being applied in a discriminatory fashion," Obama agreed later after their talks.

He called for the US and Mexico to work together to solve the complex, politically sensitive immigration issue.

"We can do so if we create a safer border, a border that will unite us instead of dividing us, uniting our people," Calderon said. Obama said the law came about because of frustration over the broken immigration system in the US, and offered some sympathy to that viewpoint. Obama said he's directed the Justice Department to review the law for possible civil rights violations and said he expects to receive a final report soon. He said the Arizona law underscores the need once again for comprehensive immigration reform, but added he can't achieve such reform without Republican support, which could be hard to come by in an election year.

The US president told a joint press conference he had directed the Justice Department to look "very carefully at the language of this law," and report back soon whether it "comports with our core values and... legal standards."

And he appealed to Republicans to help pass some kind of "comprehensive immigration reform" which would tackle the problem of what to do with the 12 million illegal immigrants, many of the Mexicans, already in the country.

The US and Mexican governments also bore the responsibility to ensure their joint border was secured, Obama said.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has said the law, which has attracted broad support according to recent opinion polls, is needed to help secure the state's porous border, one of the main entry points for illegal immigrants in the US.

Calderon faces immense domestic pressure to seek US immigration reform in the wake of the new law, which allows the detention of people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Obama has offered no assurances he will seek new legislation before crucial mid-term elections in November in which immigration is likely to be a hot-button issue.

He said Wednesday that he believed those that were in the United States illegally should be "held accountable, and that means they need to pay a fine, they need to pay back taxes.

"I believe they should learn English, I believe that it is important for them to get to the back of the line and not in the front," Obama added, saying the government also needed to set up "a pathway" so they can become legal citizens if they follow the law.

Obama has stepped up his criticism of Arizona's controversial immigration law, calling it "misdirected" and warning that it has the potential to be applied in a discriminatory fashion.

"I think a fair reading of the language of the statute indicates that it gives the possibility of individuals who are deemed suspicious of being illegal immigrants from being harassed or arrested," Obama said at a news conference following his closed, bilateral meeting with the Mexican President, Felipe Calderon.