With the legislative calendar days in the single digits for 2013, activists and politicians are positioning themselves for getting immigration done in 2014.
On Tuesday, Speaker Boehner’s office. announced that Rebecca Tallent would be joining the Speaker’s staff.
Until this week, Tallent has been the immigration policy director at the Bipartisan Policy Center. That position was a culmination of a long history of working behind the scenes on important immigration issues, including as Chief of Staff for Senator John McCain (R.-AZ).
Many speculate that the hiring of Rebecca Tallent signals that Speaker Boehner would like to see immigration reform passed in 2014.
This announcement was not the only news headline bringing attention to immigration reform.
Also on Tuesday, Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) announced he would be fasting alongside other immigration activists during the nationwide “Fast for Families” event.
Rep. Kennedy’s uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, was a vocal proponent for immigration reform and was instrumental in passing several of the most important U.S. immigration laws over the past fifty years. Interestingly enough, the famously liberal Kennedy, who passed away in 2009, often worked with McCain, a Republican, on immigration. They both introduced “Secure American and Orderly Immigration Act” in 2005 – a bill that none other than Rebacca Tallent helped draft.
