Immigration Law 2014: GOP Stalls On Immigration Reform; Issue Pushed Back To 2015?
President Obama's plans for some type of immigration reform have already been stalled by Congressional Republicans.
In the State of the Union, the president listed immigration reform as one of this year's objectives. Though he did not outline a specific plan for reform, the president has continued to support the idea and had outlined specific plans in last year's State of the Union. However, now Republicans in Congress refuse to move forward until after 2014.
According to the AP, Republicans do not agree with the president's rush in addressing immigration reform and want to wait until after the midterm elections. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said, "I think when we take back the Senate in 2014 one of the first things we should do next year after we do certain economic issues, I think we should address the immigration issue." He also explained how counterproductive it would be for Republicans to have an internal debate over immigration reform this year.
In June of last year, the senate passed a sweeping immigration reform bill. The AP reports House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, rejected the broad reform bill in exchange of a bill-by-bill process. Referencing the president's changes and delays on the healthcare reform bill, Speaker Boehner said, "there's widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. And it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes." He added that the president's actions have sown distrust among Congressional Republicans.
Republicans will continue to focus on the 2014 midterm elections and the bills currently passing through the House. The AP reports Republicans' broad principles emphasize tighter border and internal security, establish a verification system for employers and legalize some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the nation. Yet, they will not provide a path for citizenship, unlike the Senate bill.