Boehner rules out immigration reform this year
Washington (CNN) - If there were any doubts that comprehensive immigration reform efforts were dead on Capitol Hill this year, House Speaker John Boehner eliminated them on Wednesday.
Boehner repeated his long standing opposition to the Senate-passed immigration bill and his pledge the House would never vote on it, but he went a step further, drawing a bright line: "I'll make clear we have no intention ever of going to conference on the Senate bill."
Last week the third ranking House Republican, GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-California, told immigration reform advocates that there wasn't enough time left this year for the House to take up immigration reform. The House is in session 15 days between now and the end of the year.
After Republicans lost the presidential election in 2012 and Hispanic voters voted overwhelmingly for President Obama, Boehner said it was time for Congress to pass major immigration reforms.
"I think a comprehensive approach is long overdue. And I’m confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all," Boehner said in an interview with ABC News the week after the election.
Facing sharp divisions inside his conference on the issue, Boehner insists he still wants action but says any legislation has to be done in pieces.
"I want us to deal with this issue but I want to deal with it in a common sense step by step way," he said Wednesday.
A series of targeted immigration bills have passed the House Judiciary Committee - mostly focused on border security and enforcement - but GOP leaders have not scheduled any floor votes on any of them.
A significant bloc of House conservatives is adamantly opposed to any measure that provides a path to citizenship or legal status for the 11 million undocumented workers in the United States. So far, none of the House GOP proposals addresses that issue, but opponents worry that any negotiation with the Senate would ratchet up pressure on House Republicans to deal with questions of citizenship.
Boehner's statement Wednesday declaring no talks with the Senate on its bill was designed to put those concerns to rest.
The Speaker brushed aside a question of whether House GOP leaders were avoiding the divisive debate on immigration reform to focus on problems with the implementation of Obamacare.
"This is about trying to do this in a way that the American people and our members can absorb," Boehner said, adding immigration reform is too complicated to rush.
"There are hundreds of issues involved in dealing with immigration reform, and we've got to deal with these in a common sense way where our members understand what we're doing and their constituents understand."
Of course they are too busy passing 46 DOA ObamaCare Repeal Bills that have NO chance of passing the Senate or President.
Wasting Government and $Billions are the Republicons motto!!
Web1...you are an idiot!!!
This guy's citizenship should be revoked and he should be sent back to England as an illegal alien
" The House is in session 15 days between now and the end of the year."
What a bunch of lazy sacks of crap. This entire year has been squandered by non-stop budget crises, shut downs and breaks, What makes these clowns think they deserve any time off? No major legislation has been done this year. None. A budget was never even brought up.
Another article said that colonoscopies are now more popular than congress. That sounds about right. Both are disliked for generally the same reason.
Must be great to live in a bubble like this dingaling. Keep digging that hole deeper, Bonehead. You'll be lucky to see any Republican win anything outside the buy-bull belt.
Enforcethem
We don't need new reforms, we need to enforce the laws on the books now. Plain and simple and not political at all.
We do.
You are a moron.
The Speaker should just tell the Democrats and the President that we already have imigration laws, and they should live with them just like we have to live with the ACA. The law is the law.
I don't get it? How can a minority group of people decided they can make decisions for the rest of the country. I think these kind of issues should be kept out of the House Tea Party group. They just don't want to work or do anything. All they have done is just about block any kind of meaningful progress this country wants to make.
It is becoming really sad story for our country. Every time I think of this bunch, I become depressed. They have made up their mind to push this country back and back and back...
Ted Cruz is like his father a racist and a hypocrite, but that pretty much describes the Tea Party and closet Tea Party GOP folk...right Mr. Boehner!
The GOP will Self-Distrust within t the next couple of national elections cb/c of their ideas or lack thereof..The party has no vision for natiion building and national interest just bunch of old white men with no new ideas. The No party of Hatery and hypocrisy. Keep it up GOP / TEA BAGGGERS self-Distruct ..
"Boehner rules out immigration reform this year"
That's terrific news.
There are bigger things to worry about right now
There is a system already, and it grants legal status to any child born in this country. You ask why should we reward these illegal immigrants by granting them amnesty, and a path to citizenship? I would ask you: why should we punish those American citizens who will become dependents of the state because their parents will be deported? or do you expect those American citizens to be deported as well? Because if you do, then your perception of what America is supposed to be is really screwed up. I t is not a "black-and-white" issue. Deporting 11 million people will not solve the problem. There will be god-knows-how-many functional American citizen orphans left behind or deported to suffer for something they did not do, Is this the current idea of American justice? For if it is, then I would ask, what the heck are we doing all over the world preaching to everyone as if we stand the high moral ground? Are we that hypocritical? If that is the case, then we are truly doomed as a country.
Well we all know what JB means backwards and that is what all the repucitans are. They are on their knees doing it to Rafael cruz and the other bone head tea turds everyday because they are so afraid of being primaryed
It's about time moderate Republicans woke up and realized that where the rubber hits the road they have more in common with Democrats than with the Tea Party. Get over your use of labels and work with the people whose vision of America is incredibly similar to yours and try to make the country a better place.
I hope the Republicans are thtow. out in 2014. The GOP Are worthless.
Hey, barbarae:
How long have you been out of touch with reality?
rs
Logictox
We have immigration laws? You wouldn't know it, in my area, I will bet 20% of the population doesn't speak English. At some point years ago ***** being in the country illegally stopped being a crime *****
Under Ronald Reagan, your hero.
Sorry but the Mexicans gotta go. Look what they did to cali and Texas. The illegal Mexicans have bankrupted our states and turned them into Mexican Ghetto Slums like in Mexico. Please gop do not budge on this issue, We do not need the support of Illegal Mexicans like the dems do to win elections.
Well if we were going to vote repub, you just killed that for the next 20 years atleast!! You repubs won't see the inside of the white house for a long time.
Deport illegals, follow american great lows and regulations. Impeach Obama, transfer liberals to Afrika
Wow – so Republicans like having illegal immigrants in America, and they like the fact that 50 million Americans are prohibited from health care by Big Insurance.
Sounds like the TeaBillieNazi's really really hate America. No wonder they tried to close it down.
What about passing a minimum wage bill before Christmas? What about a Farm Bill? Naw, we need more vacations says Boehner.
This is a heartless, non-caring party. I don't feel sorry for people who voted them in.
What about legal immigration? Shouldn't we first think about people with skills who come here and want to stay ? I have a classmate who applied for h1 work visa and got rejected because too many applied. We have hundreds of thousands of immigrants who allowed to enter the country only because they have brother or aunt who has green card. On the other hand we deny student visa holders from other countries who labor hard to get American education a chance to stay here.