Obama, McDonalds and Lockheed Martin Talk Immigration Reform

In a push to re-focus Congress’ attention on immigration reform, President Obama will meet with some of the nation’s top business leaders at the White House on Tuesday.

Among the group meeting with Obama are Marillyn Hewson, CEO and president of Lockheed Martin, and Don Thompson, president and CEO of McDonalds.

There’s a small window to pass an immigration overhaul 2013, and many onlookers aren’t hopeful. An immigration overhaul passed in the Senate in June, but the Republican-controlled House of Representatives hasn’t brought a comparable measure to the floor for a vote.

Immigration reform is a major priority of President Obama’s second-term agenda, and he’s been outspoken in his support over the past year.

Major business interests are also in favor of a bill’s passage. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put its weight behind the Senate’s legislation, and continues to call for a change to immigration laws.

Some conservatives aren’t buying into his current push, however. The right-leaning outlet Newsmax called out Obama for trying to distract the public from the disastrous launch of the healthcare website.

Here’s the list of attendees at the White House meeting today:

Roger Altman, Founder and Chairman, Evercore Partners

Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions

Joe Echevarria, CEO, Deloitte LLP

Marillyn A. Hewson, CEO and President, Lockheed Martin

Edward Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm

Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott

Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, Blackstone

Ted Hesson was formerly the immigration editor at Fusion, covering the issue from Washington, D.C. He also writes about drug laws and (occasionally) baseball. On the side: guitars, urban biking, and fiction.