President Barack Obama met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the immigration system and crisis on the southern border of the U.S. on Wednesday.

According to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, the purpose of the meeting was for Obama to hear the congressional Democrats' ideas about steps he can take by using his executive authority.

The White House reaffirmed Obama heard the comments made by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which consists of a "small" group of Hispanic Democratic members of Congress currently led by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas. Obama stated he is focused on solving the country's "broken" immigration system as long as it's within the confines of the law. Obama reiterated that although he could execute his executive power, he would rather want action from Congress such as "commonsense" immigration reform legislation.

"The President also emphasized the urgency for Congress to approve supplemental funding to aid the government response to the influx of migrants at the Rio Grande Valley," the Office of the Press Secretary stated. "The supplemental request represents a balanced approach to increasing our law enforcement capacity, ensuring we have resources to offer migrants due process as required by law, and also helping our Central American partners deal with some of the challenges they face back home."

The Rio Grande Valley serves special significance for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as the area is part of Rep. Hinojosa's 15th District in Texas. According to the Obama administration, the situation in the Rio Grande Valley "underscores" the broken immigration system.

As Latin Post reported, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, introduced a bipartisan bill aimed to ease the immigration crisis. The legislation, known as the Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency (HUMANE) Act, includes solutions to undocumented minors waiting for a hearing at the immigration court. Cuellar, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus was reportedly in attendance with the meeting with Obama. Cuellar and Obama, however, did not discuss the proposed bill. According to Politico, Cuellar and Obama didn't say a word to each other. The group, as well as Obama, is reportedly against Cuellar and Cornyn's bill even before Wednesday's meeting.

"It is very clear, as this caucus has stated, we want to help the president get expedited hearings for those youth who have come to our borders," said Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., via the Houston Chronicle. "But that expedited process, quickening and making sure they get into a courtroom, doesn't mean that we minimize or take away rights that those children have."

Gutierrez added that it will be difficult to hear the cases of "50,000" undocumented minors, caught since October, in 10 days, stating, "Can we all agree that's not going to happen?" 

"[Obama] was very straight-forward about the fact that just because a child is in a poor situation, doesn't mean the child should stay. There are lots of children around the world in that situation," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif.

According to Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-Texas, Obama made no commitments on providing his own legislative solution to the border issue. The group, however, remained optimistic.

Castro also commented on Obama's request for $3.7 billion for the immigration crisis, stating, "I do think there's a chance" for Congress to pass the budget.

Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder were tasked to conduct a "thorough review" that includes recommendations to fixing the immigration crisis by the end of the summer.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.