Obama jumps into immigration debate — will that help or hurt?

After months of remaining mostly quiet about the Senate Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform proposal, President Obama will take up the issue this week with a White House event to urge passage of the 1,000-page legislation. The question is whether that will help or hurt his cause.

Timed to coincide with the beginning of Senate debate on the bill, Obama will meet with “a broad, bipartisan and diverse coalition of business leaders, labor leaders, law enforcement, religious and faith leaders, and other key stakeholders” at the White House Tuesday to press the case that “now is the time to enact commonsense immigration reform.” The White House says Obama will deliver remarks specifically supporting the Gang of Eight bill.