Three Reasons Immigration Reform Could Pass in 2014
For the most part, Congress is the place where ideas go to die this year. But heres one that aint dead yet: immigration reform.
Are the chances good that something will happen in this midterm election year on the quest to overhaul the nations immigration system? No. But they arent zero, and conversations with officials from both the executive and legislative branches in recent days suggest the chances may have ticked up a bit. We should know for sure in the next month or so.
There are three reasons this patient cant yet be declared dead. The first is that House Speaker John Boehner has gone out of his way to show that he wants to try to get something done on immigration this year.
His most high-profile display of eagerness to have a crack at immigration wasnt artful; in late April, at an event back home in Ohio, he openly mocked Republicans in his own House caucus who, he said, are afraid to take on the tough issue. Artful or not, though, his performance served notice on his GOP colleagues that the subject remains very much on his agenda.
Its also true that the approach Mr. Boehner and his House colleagues want to takeconsidering immigration issues such as border security, guest workers and the legal status of illegal aliens one at a timeisnt the one the Senate took or the one favored by the Obama administration, which prefers a single, comprehensive bill. But administration officials say they can work with Mr. Boehner on his approach as long as its enough to get some piece of legislation from the House into a conference committee with the Senate, where differences can be argued out.
The second reason there is hope for immigration reform is the fact that the heaviest stretch of the primary-election season soon will pass. Immigration-reform advocates have always thought the chances of getting something done would improve once primary elections are over and Republican House members worried about being challenged from within their own party by anti-reform forces can start breathing easier. As Tuesdays big primary day in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio indicate, some of the most important primaries this year now are winding down.
And the third reason is the business community, which very much wants immigration reform, hoping that a new system will make it easier for a variety of American firms to find the workers they need. Look for business leaders to begin reaching out to House members in coming weeks to try to make the most of this one last chance for action in 2014.
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Three Reasons Immigration Reform Could Pass in 2014