President Barack Obama said Friday (June 19, 2009) he is committed to a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a way for illegal immigrants to become US citizens.

Obama is hosting a small group of senators and House members at the White House next Thursday to discuss how to move the stalled issue forward, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

He said they must pay a fine and taxes, learn English and “go to the back of the line’’ of people trying to enter the United States from their home country. “That is the fair, practical, and promising way forward, and that’s what I’m committed to passing as president of the United States,’’ Obama said.