WASHINGTON - Days after House Republicans unveiled a road map for an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system, one of its backers said legislation is unlikely to pass during this election year.
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said distrust of President Barack Obama runs so deep in the Republican Caucus that he’s skeptical the GOP-led House will pass any immigration measure. He said a plan that puts security first could only pass if lawmakers believe the administration would enforce it - an unlikely prospect given Republicans’ deep opposition to Obama.
“This isn’t a trust-but-verify, this is a verify-then-trust approach,” Ryan said.
Last week, House Republicans announced their broad concerns for any immigration overhaul but emphasized they would tackle the challenge bill-by-bill. The party’s conservative base opposes any measure that would create a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, but many in the party worry that failing to act could drive voters to Democratic candidates. In 2012, Obama won re-election with the backing of 71 percent of Hispanic voters and 73 percent of Asian voters.
Republicans have pre-emptively been trying to blame the White House for immigration legislation’s failure. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said “there’s a lot of distrust of this administration in implanting the law.”
And Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., last week warned that distrust of Obama would trump the desire to find a solution for the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally.
“We just don’t think government will enforce the law anyway,” Rubio said, recounting conversations he’s had with fellow Republicans.
House Republicans are pushing a piecemeal approach to immigration that puts a priority on security before considering a path for those here illegally to earn citizenship. That strategy runs counter to a comprehensive bill, passed through the Senate seven months ago with bipartisan support, that includes a long and difficult path to citizenship.
GOP House leaders emerged from their annual retreat last week with a one-page document describing their position on immigration, which included an opportunity for 11 million workers to earn legal status, as opposed to citizenship, a statement that still pitted many Republicans against their party’s leadership.
Cantor said that Congress should address the issue of children who are taken to the country, a subject on which there is consensus. The document released by Republicans on Thursday, called Standards for Immigration Reform, said there should be a path to legal status and citizenship for such children.
The White House, meanwhile, returned to its position that any legislation must include a way for those living here illegally to earn citizenship and that the system cannot divide Americans into two classes - citizens and noncitizens.
“We ought to see a pathway to citizenship for people,” White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said Sunday. “We don’t want to have a permanent separation of classes or two permanent different classes of Americans in this country.”
Last week, however, Obama suggested that he’s open to a legal status for immigration that falls short of citizenship, hinting he could find common ground with House Republicans.
“I’m going to do everything I can in the coming months to see if we can get this over the finish line,” Obama said Friday.
And in an interview with CNN recorded earlier and aired Sunday, Obama expressed optimism about the prospects for an immigration overhaul and the ability to work with House Speaker John Boehner on the issue.
“I genuinely believe that Speaker Boehner and a number of House Republicans, folks like Paul Ryan, really do want to get a serious immigration reform bill done,” he said.
McDonough echoed that, saying the White House remains optimistic that legislation that includes citizenship could reach the president’s desk: “We feel pretty good that we’ll get a bill done this year.”
Not so, countered Ryan, the GOP’s vice presidential nominee in 2012.
“Here’s the issue that all Republicans agree on: We don’t trust the president to enforce the law,” he added.
Asked whether immigration legislation would make its way to Obama for him to sign into law, Ryan said he was skeptical.
Ryan spoke to ABC’s This Week. Cantor was interviewed on CBS’ Face the Nation. Mc-Donough appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press and CBS.
Information for this article was contributed by Philip Elliott of The Associated Press and by Emmarie Huetteman of The New York Times.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 02/03/2014