Despite being in the midst of a U.S. government shutdown, House Democrats gathered on Capitol Hill today to announce their own comprehensive immigration reform bill. The 78-page bill is based on the Gang of 8’s bill that passed this summer. The new bill drops the controversial Corker-Hoeven border security amendment that was added to appease certain opponents of the original Senate bill. In its place is a provision for the Department of Homeland Security to establish a plan for arresting at least 90% of immigrants who try to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and many other House Democrats joined together to present this bill at a time when it seems that Democrats and Republicans can’t or won’t see eye to eye on any legislation.
The Democrats’ emphasis was on bipartisanship, with multiple representatives repeatedly stating that each part of the bill had bi-partisan support and therefore should be acceptable for House Republicans to consider.
Less than two weeks ago, a bi-partisan group was supposed to produce an immigration reform bill for the House but fell apart due to two Republican members of the group dropping out.
How viable is the Democrats’ immigration reform bill?
Those who monitor the immigration debate are predicting this bill will go ignored by Republicans and is meant more to make a statement about the need for reform than to actually pass legislation. DREAMer activist organization DREAM Action Coalition released a statement today in response to the bill’s release, saying they were “skeptical” and warning that “the path to citizenship should not be used as a political weapon to hurt the other party or kill any chance of reform, including piecemeal legislation.”
The consensus seems to be that Republican House members will not consider an immigration reform effort led by Democrats, but there have been no official statements released from House Speaker John Boehner or other GOP leaders in the House.
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