President Barack Obama granted an interview to "Noticiero Telemundo's" Washington D.C. correspondent, Lori Montenegro at the White House. The interview aired March 27. Among the highlights:
On immigration reform:
-"I think both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have been very serious about the negotiations. I'm actually very optimistic that when they return in early April that we'll see a bill ready to move through the process."
-"I've got my own legislation, I'm prepared to step in, but I don't think that's going to be necessary. I think there's a commitment among this group of Democratic and Republican senators to get this done."
On gay marriage:
-"I certainly believe that those states that have made a decision to recognize these couples as being married; that the federal government has to respect that decision by the states. That's traditionally been how it works."
-I think that not only it is right and fair, but also consistent with our constitution to recognize same sex couples. It doesn't mean that everybody has to agree from a religious standpoint about this issue. It does mean that it is very important for us to remember we are a nation in which everybody's supposed to be equal before the law."
The president announces a visit to Mexico and Costa Rica:
-"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to visit Mexico. I'll be going there in early May. We've done a lot of work with the previous Mexican administration on security issues and on economic issues, but sometimes the relationship gets characterized just as being about borders or just as being about drug cartels. There's so much more to the relationship in terms of commerce, in terms of trade, in terms of energy."
-"I'll also then travel to Costa Rica to meet with the leaders of all the Central American countries, because one of the most important things that we can do is strengthen the cooperation between us and our Central American and Caribbean partners."