WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has sought to mitigate any damage from the leak of an immigration bill being drafted by the White House, telling a Spanish-language TV network he didn't jeopardize negotiations with the Senate. Leaks in Washington happen all the time, Obama said Wednesday, and that shouldn't prevent immigration reform from moving forward. He said negotiations are continuing at full speed. Members of a bipartisan Senate group taking the lead on immigration reform were caught off guard over the weekend when details of Obama's own bill were published on USA Today's website. Obama had said he's preparing his own bill, but only as a back-up in case congressional talks fail. While Obama and the Senate group differ on some key details, both sides are contemplating legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for most of the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the US, tighten border security, crack down on businesses that employ illegal workers and strengthen the legal immigration system. Some see immigration as the issue with the best chance at passing a sharply divided Congress this year. Republicans who had talked tough about deportation were jolted into reconsidering the immigration issue after Latino voters heavily supported Obama's re-election win in November. Some Republicans have questioned whether the leak of a competing bill makes it more difficult to strike a deal in the Senate. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, one of the Republicans in the group, said Obama's plan injects partisanship into a tough process. And David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama's re-election campaign, acknowledged that it likely was a mistake for news of Obama's plan to be made public. Obama said Wednesday he still prefers that Congress — not the White House — craft a viable law to overhaul the nation's immigration system, and that his standby bill doesn't intrude on the bill that senators are working on. — AP
