Immigration reform is the responsibility of the federal government, said U. S. President Obama, acknowledging state officials are frustrated.

Obama said on Monday on CBS's "Early Show", "I understand the frustration of people in Arizona. But what we can't do is demagogue the issue. And what we can't do is allow a patchwork of 50 different states, or cities or localities, where anybody who wants to make a name for themselves suddenly says, 'I'm gonna be anti-immigrant and I'm gonna try to see if I can solve the problem … .'"

It has also been reported that U. S. District Judge Susan Bolton last week temporarily halted key portions of Arizona's immigration law, including the requirements for police officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws and for immigrants to carry documentation at all times. Provisions not included in Bolton's ruling went into effect Thursday. Her decision set up a legal battle that could be heard ultimately by the U. S. Supreme Court.

His administration has "actually put more resources on the border to the point where we now have more of everything … (more) overflights and, you know, more immigration agents. You name it, we've got more of them," said Obama.

Obama further added, "We now have a strategy that can work. I've been very clear that we are going to move forward on a process of training Afghans so that they can provide for their own security. And then by the middle of next year, by 2011, we are gonna start thinning out our troops and giving Afghans more responsibility." (With Inputs from Agencies)