Obama heckled as he tries to woo Hispanic voters by hailing importance of immigrants to U.S.

• Obama attempts to woo Hispanic voters with immigration reform
• Border is more secure than ever, claims Obama, as he says guard numbers have doubled since 2004
• President claims less arrests show fewer attempting to cross border, but opponents say officers have stopped arrests to keep figures down
• Mocks Republicans, saying they will want a moat with alligators in on border
• Pledges to escalate legislation offering route to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in U.S.
• First visit to U.S.-Mexico border since election in 2008

President Obama was heckled as he made a blatant attempt to woo Hispanic voters today by hailing the importance of immigrants to the American economy.

Speaking in El Paso, Texas, close to Mexican the border, the President pledged to escalate legislation that would offer a pathway to the nation’s millions of illegal immigrants.

But the President also claimed border controls between the U.S. and Mexico had never been more stringent.

Scroll down for President Obama’s speech

Obama said:’We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants – a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts.

‘It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal. In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country great.’

The President was broadly cheered by supporters as he told how immigrants were an essential part of the economic recovery and said he wanted to offer a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

But he was then heckled as he made reference to the ‘fence’ between the U.S. and Mexico, with shouts of ‘tear it down’ from the crowd.

In scenes unusual for such a campaign-style event, supporters attempted to drown out jeers from opponents of immigration by chanting, ‘Yes we can’.

The speech came as immigration is widely expected to become a key issue in the 2010 presidential election as both Democrats and Republicans seek to use it to their own advantage.

A number of states, including Arizona, have been moving in the opposite direction of the President by making it easier to deport people in the U.S. illegally.

On his first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming president, Obama declared it was more secure than ever before.

He boasted of increasing border patrol agents, nearing completion of a border fence and screening more cargo.

Obama claimed that fewer arrests of illegal immigrants showed that ‘far fewer people are attempting to cross the border illegally’.

‘Even as we have stepped up patrols, apprehensions along the border have been cut by nearly 40 per cent from two years ago,’ said Obama.

But local police chiefs have alleged that they have been told to stop arresting illegal immigrants on the border to keep official figures down.

An Arizona sheriff last month said Border Patrol agents have told dozens of law enforcement officers to instead chase the immigrants back towards Mexico.

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he had been ‘flooded’ with emails from officers supporting his claims.

The President sought to blame Republicans for standing in the way of immigration legislation as he sought to appease Hispanic voters.

Many Hispanics have voiced concerns about the administration’s heavy deportations and feel Obama never made good on his promise to prioritise immigration legislation during his first year in office.

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