Demand A Vote: Time Is NOW To Pass Immigration Reform
House Democrats will launch a discharge petition to demand a vote to finally fix the broken immigration system. Join Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), ...
By: HouseDems
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Demand A Vote: Time Is NOW To Pass Immigration Reform - Video
A Central American immigrant riding on top of a freight train en route to the Mexico-U.S. border in August 2013
FORTUNE -- Facing long odds, the U.S. technology industry is continuing to push Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform this year.
The effort, led by Joe Green, president of the bipartisan group FWD.us, got off to a rocky start. After it ran ads in support of the Keystone XL pipeline and in opposition to the Affordable Care Act to give cover to conservative Republicans who came out in support of immigration reform, FWD.us came under fire from many prominent Silicon Valley figures who support environmental causes. Some members even left the group.
Despite the setbacks, the well-funded FWD.us continues to press on. This week, it highlighted polls that suggest Republicans will not be hurt with their core voters for supporting immigration reform, and organized ThinkFWD events in San Francisco and New York to highlight issues like the role of the tech industry in strengthening the middle class.
Green spoke with Fortune's Miguel Helft about the organization's efforts. Below, an edited transcript of the conversation.
Fortune: It does not look like immigration reform will pass this year. What's the plan? This has been the defining issue for FWD.us. Green: We disagree with the premise of the question.
You think it can pass?
I do. When we started this, our basic analysis was that this issue was a fundamentally political challenge. There is a large amount of policy consensus among members of Congress. If you look at the undocumented, which is the politically most difficult part of this, all but a handful of people believe we are not going to deport 11 million people. So we should legalize them. There is some questions to how and if they should become citizens -- we believe that they should be able to earn citizenship.
The political fear on this is that Republicans in gerrymandered House districts could lose a primary [if they vote for comprehensive immigration reform]. All of our work has shown that's unfounded.
I do think most members of Congress believe it is the right thing to do economically, ethically for the country, and both parties have political reasons to do it.
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Despite setbacks, tech industry presses on immigration reform
Politics Congress House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2014. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a petition to force a vote on the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last year but stalled in the GOP-controlled House.
The so-called discharge petition, if successful, would force the chamber to vote on legislation Republican leaders have said they have no intention of bringing up, preferring a piecemeal approach to the contentious issue. A majority of the House, or 218 members, would have to support the petition in order to force a vote, which is unlikely even by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis own estimation.
But President Barack Obama welcomed the move.
Last year, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to pass a commonsense bill to fix our broken immigration systema bill that would grow our economy, shrink our deficits, and reward businesses and workers that play by the rules, Obama said in a statement. But so far, Republicans in the House have refused to allow meaningful immigration reform legislation to even come up for a vote. Thats why, today, I applaud the efforts of Democrats in the House to give immigration reform the yes-or-no vote it deserves.
The Senate-passed bill would secure the nations borders and provide an earned pathway to citizenshipa move opposed by conservative Republicans who decry it as amnesty. Democrats on Wednesday also touted a new finding by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office score that it would cut the deficit by $900 billion over 20 years.
Well never get to 218 on the discharge petition, Pelosi, a California Democrat, told Sirius XM Radio at an event earlier this month. Because the Republicans generally wont sign, but the fact that it is there and the outside mobilization is saying all we want is a vote.
House Speaker John Boehners only response on Wednesday was a wry statement from his spokesman. We agree with Rep. Pelosi, spokesman Michael Steel said, referring to Pelosis admission that the discharge petition wont succeed.
If the bill were to ever come to the floor it would likely pass with mostly-Democratic support and the backing of some 40 Republicans who have voted for similar measures in the past. But no Republicans are willing to embarrass their leadership on an issue the majority of the conference clearly doesnt support. The three GOP cosponsors of the Democratic immigration bill in the House have said they would not sign the discharge petition.
All that means Wednesdays move will amount to little more than political posturing, a show of support for Latino and immigrant groups by Democrats meaning to shame Republicans on the issue ahead of the midterm elections.
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Washington Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, objected repeatedly Wednesday to an attempt by Democrats to bring comprehensive immigration reform to the House floor.
A line of Democrats waited in the House to ask for the consent of the chamber to put immigration reform up for a vote, a calculated effort to show support for passing the legislation, which has lingered without action for months.
Bishop, who held control of the Republican majoritys time on the House floor, was there to talk about his legislation to ensure a presidential declaration under the Antiquities Act goes through environmental reviews. He appeared annoyed at the Democrats attempt to change the subject.
"I would be happy to talk about the bill that is before us because its a wonderful bill," Bishop said after objecting several times to requests to yield the time to talk about immigration.
Democrats have argued the immigration bill which would create a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 12 million people who are in the country without legal paperwork would pass if it were up for a vote in the House.
The GOP majority, however, has declined to bring it up.
In another tactic, Democrats are proposing a "discharge petition," which would force the House to take up immigration reform. That effort would require the signatures of 218 House members to force House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to hold a vote.
Immigration supporters tried procedural moves, too.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., asked Bishop how many more members needed to come forward before the Utah Republican would allow the House to talk about immigration reform.
Bishop said he was happy to talk about the "issue that is at hand," his Antiquities Act measure, and began heralding his legislation before Polis interrupted, saying his Utah counterpart was wading into an "arcane issue" while avoiding the pressing concern about immigration.
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President Barack Obama formally endorsed a long-shot legislative gambit from House Democrats aimed at forcing a vote on comprehensive immigration reform as he blamed House Republicans for stalling an overhaul.
In a three-paragraph statement, Obama said he applauds the strategy from Democrats to use a discharge petition to get a vote on immigration reform legislation. A successful petition needs 218 signatures a threshold all but certain to not be reached.
Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security and our future, Obama said. A vast majority of the American people agree. The only thing standing in the way is the unwillingness of Republicans in Congress to catch up with the rest of the country.
(Also on POLITICO:Ryan: Immigration a 'when,' not 'if')
Obamas statement released the same day that the discharge petition was filed is unusual. The White House did not release similar statements when House Democrats deployed the tactic on two occasions this year to raise the federal minimum wage and extend unemployment insurance.
A discharge petition forces House leaders to put legislation on the floor for a vote. It needs a majority of House members, or 218 signatures, to succeed. Such efforts are rarely successful because signing the petition is considered a sign of disloyalty for a member of the majority party.
Even if all 199 sitting Democrats endorse the immigration discharge petition, it would still need 19 GOP signatures.
Though they have hinted at the effort for weeks, House Democrats on Wednesday formally launched the discharge petition effort to force a vote on a sweeping bill much like the version that passed the Senate, except that it scales back its so-called border surge provisions. During an outdoor rally in unusually frigid and snowy March weather, a slew of House Democrats and immigration activists urged support for the legislative strategy and pressed for a floor vote on reform.
Every day that you refuse to act is another day that 1,100 families are torn apart by senseless deportations, said actress and activist America Ferrera in a message directed at House Republicans. So we are here, demanding a vote for the families dreading that knock on the door, hoping and praying that they will not be one of the 1,100 today.
On Wednesday, aides to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) noted comments made by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) earlier this month, acknowledging that Democrats will not secure the necessary signatures. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said simply: We agree with Rep. Pelosi.
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