White House on deport Bieber petition: No comment

By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House has two words for those who want President Barack Obama to deport Justin Bieber: No comment.

Nearly 275,000 people signed an Internet petition calling the Canadian-born teen idol reckless and asking Obama to revoke his green card. That's far more than required to merit an official response through the White House's "We the People" program.

The White House says it's sorry to disappoint, but it won't be commenting. It's citing a caveat that lets the White House decline to address certain petitions.

But the White House is using the occasion to argue that an immigration overhaul could shrink deficits by nearly $1 trillion over two decades. The White House says that's equivalent to 12.5 billion concert tickets - or 100 billion copies of Bieber's debut album.

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