Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto after a joint news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City May 2, 2013.

President Barack Obama warned lawmakers against erecting unnecessarily high benchmarks for a pending overhaul of immigration laws, suggesting they would excuse inaction by Congress.

The president, following a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, said that he remained “optimistic” that Congress could produce a comprehensive immigration reform law this year – an issue of particular importance to millions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans residing in the United States.

But, responding to Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s suggestion that the bipartisan immigration law he helped produce might need even stronger provisions on border security in order to win the necessary votes for passage, Obama warned members of Congress.

“Frankly, we put enormous resources into border security.  There are areas where, frankly, there is more work to be done,” Obama said. “But what I’m not going to do is go along with something where we’re looking for an excuse not to do it.”

In an interview on Wednesday with conservative talker Sean Hannity, Rubio, a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that authored a new immigration law, said the aspects in the law dealing with border security might need more work.

“The part we still have to do some work on is this border stuff,” Rubio said. “And as I said yesterday … this bill will not pass the House and quite frankly I think will struggle to pass the Senate if it doesn’t deal with that issue.”

Conservatives have demanded stronger border provisions as part of a broad immigration reform deal in exchange for creating a pathway to citizenship for those currently residing in the United States without any documentation.

Peña Nieto, for his part, said that the Mexican government “understands that this is a domestic affair for the U.S.” and wished its northern neighbor the best of luck in its reform efforts.

This story was originally published on Thu May 2, 2013 6:26 PM EDT

Women are a key driver of support for legislation overhauling the nation's gun and immigration laws, according to new data in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, just as Congress prepares to take up major legislation on both of those issues.

Women outpace men in their support for stricter gun laws and immigration reform that provides undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, data which becomes more salient in light of the Republican Party’s effort to regain its footing with women voters after last fall’s elections.

View full poll results here

The gender gap is most pronounced when it comes to the issue of stricter gun controls, legislation on which the Senate voted to begin consideration this Thursday.

Sixty-five percent of women said they favor stricter laws governing the sale of firearms, versus just 5 percent who favor less strict laws. Twenty-seven percent of women said the law should be kept as it is now. By comparison, 44 percent of men favor stricter gun laws, while 41 percent said laws should stay the same.

(Also of note: Self-described mothers favor stricter gun laws even more overwhelmingly; 70 percent of mothers with children in the home said that laws governing firearm sales should be tightened.)

While the gap is less pronounced, women respondents in this month’s NBC/WSJ poll were more sympathetic to arguments in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.

Women favor immigration reform that allows a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants by a 36-point margin. Sixty-seven percent of women said they would favor such a proposal, versus 31 percent who would oppose those reforms. Men also favor immigration reform, but by a slightly slimmer, 60 percent to 38 percent spread.

When explained that a pathway to citizenship would involve paying a fine, any back taxes, passing a security background check and taking other measures, men and women would favor immigration reform at roughly the same levels: Seventy-eight percent of women favor such a proposal, versus 74 percent of men.

The gender gap also extends to some high-profile social issues at the forefront of American political debate at the moment, like same-sex marriage.

In the poll, women favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, 56 percent to 40 percent. Men, by contrast, favor allowing same-sex marriages, 50 percent to 43 percent. (That's a relatively seismic shift for men; in the March 2004 NBC/WSJ poll, just 26 percent of men favored gay marriage, while 52 percent opposed.)

The poll was conducted April 5-8, and has a 4.3 percent margin of error for the subsample of women, and a 4.5 percent margin of error for the subsample of men.

With a bipartisan group of senators expected to unveil immigration-reform legislation in the next few days, a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that nearly two-thirds of Americans – including eight-in-10 Latinos – support giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.

A slight majority of Republican respondents oppose this path, possibly foreshadowing the resistance which any comprehensive immigration reform bill might receive, especially in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

But when Republicans hear that a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants includes paying fines and back taxes, almost three-quarters of them support the idea.

What’s more, a majority of the public – for the first time in the poll – agrees with the statement that immigration strengthens the nation, reflecting a shift in attitude on this issue. 

Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with the Democratic firm Hart Research Associates, says that this change in sentiment on immigration “speaks to something potent,” particularly given the economic struggles of the past five years.

"These more positive attitudes provide more leeway for lawmakers to build support for change on this issue," McInturff adds.

View the poll results here

On other matters, the poll shows a majority of the public favors stricter gun laws, President Barack Obama’s approval rating falling below 50 percent for the first time since Oct. 2012, and fewer than two-in-10 Americans saying the automatic budget cuts known as “the sequester” have significantly affected them.

Immigration – a strength or weakness?
A majority (54 percent) agrees with the statement that immigration adds to the nation’s character and strengthens it by bringing diversity and talent to the country.

Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

Tens of thousands of immigration reform supporters march in the "Rally for Citizenship" on the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 10, 2013.

In a 2010 NBC/WSJ survey, fewer than half of respondents agreed with that statement, and in 2005, a plurality said that immigration weakened the nation.

Additionally, the Democratic Party holds a 7-point advantage over the Republican Party on the question of which party does a better job in dealing with immigration.

Among an oversample of Latino respondents, the Democratic edge increases to 26 points.

Regarding the current legislative debate over immigration, 64 percent of respondents say they favor allowing undocumented immigrants to have the opportunity to become legal American citizens.

That includes 82 percent of Latinos, 80 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of political independents supporting a path to citizenship.

But 51 percent of Republicans oppose it, versus 47 percent who back it.

Yet when told that the pathway to citizenship would require paying fines and back taxes, as well as passing a security-background check, support grows – with 76 percent of total respondents, and 73 percent of Republicans backing the path.

That pathway to citizenship is the heart of a comprehensive immigration reform proposal that the so-called “Gang of Eight” senators – including Democrats Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin and Republicans John McCain and Marco Rubio – are drafting and plan to introduce in the next few days.

The proposal also calls for strengthening the U.S.-Mexico border, tying that security to establishing the path to citizenship and expanding legal immigration.

A majority of all respondents (51 percent) believe undocumented immigrants should be eligible for citizenship five years after application. Just 12 percent say the eligibility should occur after 10 years, and only 18 percent believe citizenship should be immediate.

On border security, nearly two-thirds of Americans (63 percent) think the U.S.-Mexico border is “mostly” or “totally” not secure, compared with a smaller percentage of Latino respondents (49 percent) who believe that.

55 percent favor stricter gun laws
In addition to immigration, Congress is grappling with the issue of gun control, with the Senate expected to vote on Thursday whether to begin debate on a Democratic-backed measure requiring background checks for most gun sales.

According to the poll, 55 percent favor stricter laws covering the sale of firearms.

That’s down 6 points from the Feb. 2013 NBC/WSJ poll – conducted after Obama’s State of the Union address that contained a call to action on gun control – but it’s essentially unchanged from the Jan. 2013 poll.

Yet there’s a wide political divide to these numbers: 82 percent of Democrats favor stricter gun laws, while just 27 percent of Republicans do.

Obama’s approval rating drops to 47 percent
Despite majorities backing the broad outlines of his legislative priorities on immigration and guns, President Obama confronts a pessimistic public and declining poll numbers.

Only 31 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction – a decline of 10 points since Dec. 2012.

His overall job-approval rating stands at 47 percent, which is down 3 points since February and which represents the first time he’s been below 50 percent since just before the 2012 election.

In addition, 47 percent approve of the president’s economic handling (up three points from February), and 46 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy (down six from Dec. 2012).

Democratic pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research says that the public’s sour attitude, particularly on the economy, has “dragged down” Obama’s numbers.

Sequester’s limited impact (so far)
Lastly, the NBC/WSJ poll finds that only a combined 16 percent of Americans say the automatic across-the-board budget cuts that went into effect earlier in the year have impacted them either “a great deal” or “quite a bit.”

By comparison, a whopping 75 percent say the cuts to military and non-military programs have affected them “just some” or “not much.”

But a plurality of respondents – 47 percent – believe the cuts will mostly harm the economy, versus 30 percent who say they won’t have an impact.

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents) from April 5-8, and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

TODAY: Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania are expected to announce a deal on gun control and background checks in just a few hours. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

DAILY RUNDOWN: After it seemed like gun legislation would stall this week, and a Republican filibuster might gain some traction – momentum in the gun debate has swung. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports.

DAILY RUNDOWN: NBC's Pete Williams reports on the main argument in Tuesday's Supreme Court case, "Is Proposition 8 constitutional?" 

TODAY: The Supreme Court will hear arguments today as they consider whether or not California's same-sex marriage ban is constitutional. If the court strikes down Proposition 8, same-sex marriage would resume in California. NBC's Pete Williams reports and legal analyst Lisa Bloom discusses the case.

NIGHTLY NEWS: As public opinion on gay marriage continues to shift, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether the federal government can refuse to recognize it, and whether the states can ban it in the first place. NBC's Pete Williams reports. 

DAILY RUNDOWN: President Barack Obama was greeted by a crowd in Ramallah Thursday, as only the third sitting president to visit Palestinian territories. The Daily Rundown's guest host Chris Cillizza reports.

TODAY: Just 24 hours after President Obama met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, welcomed the president to Ramallah, in their first meeting in over a year. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

MITCHELL REPORTS: Meet the Press moderator David Gregory and Dana Weiss, host of Israel's Meet the Press, explain whether President Barack Obama's speech showed a new approach to talking about the peace process. 

NIGHTLY NEWS:During a press conference Wednesday in Israel only two questions were permitted from American journalists, prompting the President to call out correspondent Chuck Todd on his multi-part question. NBC's Brian Williams reports. 

In an opening bid for possible negotiations with House Republicans that might lead to a compromise budget resolution this summer, Senate Democrats on Wednesday formally unveiled their budget blueprint for the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The Democratic entry into the budget fray will help shape the same kind of battle in Washington over taxes and spending that has become a familiar sight in recent years.

The plan, offered by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., would seek $975 billion in spending reductions over the next 10 years as well as $975 billion in new tax revenue, which she said would be raised by “closing loopholes and cutting unfair spending in the tax code for those who need it the least,” according to Murray’s prepared remarks opening her committee’s consideration of the plan.

According to the Congressional Budget Office’s projections, from 2014 to 2023, the federal government will spend $47 trillion.

So Murray’s $975 billion in spending reductions, if enacted, would amount to about a 2 percent cut over the full 10-year period.

The CBO estimates that federal revenues will amount to $40.2 trillion over the 2014-2023 period, so Murray’s tax increases would be about a 2.4 percent increase on that CBO forecast.

Echoing some of President Barack Obama’s ideas from a 2010 infrastructure investment proposal, from his 2011 American Jobs Act, and from his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013, Murray’s blueprint also calls for a $100 billion stimulus package that would include hiring workers to repair the “highest priority deteriorating infrastructure, and fixing crumbling schools and installing critical educational technology, like broadband, that our students need to succeed.”

As Obama did in 2010, Murray calls for the creation of a public-private infrastructure bank which would raise capital to pay for the building of highways, transit projects, and other public facilities.

The House Republicans’ budget plan offered Tuesday by Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, calls for a redesign of the Medicare system beginning in 2024, a cut in the growth of future spending on the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, and cuts in the national debt.

Ryan’s plan aims to lower the ratio of publicly held debt to gross domestic product (GDP), to 55 percent by 2023, down from its current level, 76 percent of GDP.

Ryan’s plan seeks no tax increases.

In response to Ryan, Murray said, “We reject calls to dismantle or privatize Medicare by voucherizing it.”

Murray also rebuffed Republican calls in the House GOP budget plan for repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

The Murray plan also would scrap the automatic spending cuts, also known as the sequester, which are required by the 2011 Budget Control Act, and replace the money from the sequester with a mix of tax increases and spending cuts different from the ones required by the sequester.

The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to vote on her plan Thursday, followed by a floor debate next week.

“I am hopeful that the House of Representatives will join us at the bargaining table and we can work together toward the responsible and bipartisan budget deal the American people expect and deserve,” Murray said.

But she added, in a slap at Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate, that

His fiscal approach “was on the ballot last November, and voters across the country rejected it.”

Senate Democrats and House Republicans at this point appear so far apart in their budget plans that the chances of them devising a compromise budget plan seem minimal.

Under a budget process known as “reconciliation,” tax increases and changes in entitlement programs could be approved with a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the usual 60 vote requirement needed to advance legislation.

Most federal spending is mandatory and is on a kind of automatic pilot and isn’t subject to annual appropriations decisions by Congress since the benefits in the entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare go to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria.

But nonetheless the congressional budget resolution is a statement of policy goals and principles for each party. And a budget resolution can sometimes serve as a device for raising or lowering spending levels on discretionary spending items such as the National Park Service.

After a lengthy stalemate over automatic budget cuts - capped by a closed-door White House meeting with bipartisan leaders that yielded no deal - the president will head to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue next week to meet with his political rivals in the Senate. 

President Barack Obama will meet with Senate Republicans at a Thursday luncheon on the Hill on March 14, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday. 

Obama has also requested a meeting with House Republicans, although the date has not yet been scheduled. 

"Senate Republicans welcome the president to the Capitol. And I appreciate he took my recommendation to hear from all of my members," McConnell said in a statement. 

McConnell added that Republicans plan to discuss government spending and the economy at the meeting. 

Recommended: Boehner Wants Budget Deals 'Out in the Open'

The rare lunch get-together comes after Obama spoke to a handful of Republican senators by phone to address legislation on spending, immigration and gun control. 

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

President Barack Obama meets with his Cabinet at the White House March 4, 2013. Obama and Congress remain locked in stalled budget negotiations as the effect of the sequestration begin to impact the U.S. economy.

The New York Times first reported Tuesday that a group of Republicans have been invited to dinner with Obama this evening, although the heavy snow falling in Washington, D.C. could delay the effort to thaw political relationships until a night with improved weather conditions. 

The Republican senators expected to attend the dinner at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington are: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Dan Coats of Indiana, Ton Coburn of Oklahoma, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, John McCain of Arizona and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. 

The president last attended a Senate GOP luncheon on May 25, 2010.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Wed Mar 6, 2013 9:56 AM EST

MORNING JOE: Top Talkers: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has criticized Washington's inability to avert the sequester cuts, and the Morning Joe panel -- including GOP strategist Steve Schmidt and Time's Mark Halperin -- discusses why Christie is in the right and why he's well-positioned if he chooses to run in 2016.

DAILY RUNDOWN: Politico's Maggie Haberman, Alex Wagner, the Host of MSNBC's Now with Alex Wagner, and Editor at Large for Time Magazine Nancy Gibbs join The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd to talk about the 2016 presidential election and whether Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton will possibly run.

NIGHTLY NEWS: As he starts a tour to publicize his new book about immigration reform, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is initiating a tough conversation about his party's inability to reach minority voters. NBC's Chuck Todd reports. 

TODAY: The president hits the road today, heading to a Naval shipyard in Virginia in an attempt to build public support against a slew of spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

MORNING JOE: Must-Read Op-Eds: Before discussing Steve Rattner's charts on the potential effects of the sequester, Mika Brzezinski reads from a David Brooks NYT opinion column on why great presidents "...see situations differently" and why "[h]istory pivots around their terms."

DAILY RUNDOWN: Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va.,  joins The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd to discuss sequester and how it will affect the state of Virginia as well as the state's comprehensive transportation bill. McDonnell also talks state politics showing his support for Ken Cuccinelli.

NIGHTLY NEWS: Lawmakers are emphasizing the urgency of preventing the large federal budget cuts from going into effect, so why wasn't there any progress all weekend? NBC's Peter Alexander reports. 

TODAY: As the clock ticks down with no signs of progress in Congress, President Obama is issuing warnings about the consequences of a sequester, including fewer FBI agents on the job, longer airport security lines, and more. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

DAILY RUNDOWN: With less than 100 hours until the budget ax falls on Friday, President Barack Obama will meet with the nation's governors on Monday and later take his campaigning to Virginia. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports. 

MORNING JOE: Top Talkers: On Friday, March 1, 2013, $85B in spending cuts are set to kick in unless Democrats and Republicans can work out a deal to avoid the sequester. The Morning Joe panel – including the Council on Foreign Relations' Richard Haass and Mike Barnicle – discusses.