Despite former President George W. Bush advocating for an immigration reform deal to get done House Republicans have remained adamant that they will not consider the immigration bill that passed the Senate as they moved forward with their stripped-down version of an immigration reform bill, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The plan being worked on in the House would only offer citizenship to current illegal residents who had been brought to the U.S. and is likely to not ever be considered by Democrats. Since the debate on immigration reform began Democratic leaders have said that they will not consider any plan that doesn't provide a pathway to citizenship for all illegal immigrants currently in the U.S., according to the Los Angeles Times.
House Republicans met for two-and-a-half hours as they tried to find some sort of approach to take toward the issue of immigration reform. While House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, once again said that the Senate bill would not be brought up for a vote in the House he warned other Republicans that not acting at all would be disastrous for them, especially considering the bi-partisan support the Senate bill received, according to The New York Times.
Only a few hours before the Republicans met former President George W. Bush called the current immigration system broken in a rare political comment. Since leaving office former President Bush has mostly avoided commenting on political matters, his commenting now shows how important he must consider the issue, according to the Washington Post.
"I do hope there is a positive resolution to the debate," the former president said. "And I hope during the debate that we keep a benevolent spirit in mind, and we understand the contributions immigrants make it our country...At its core, immigration is a sign of a confident and successful nation."
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, was dismissive of the former president's remarks.
"Anybody has to take an ex-president's word seriously, but he's just another voice on this issue," Labrador said. "He's not going to be the definitive voice. We're not little kids waiting for someone to tell us how to vote and act."
Even as Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., advocates for an immigration bill that would allow illegal aliens who were brought here as children to eventually gain citizenship others in his party, like Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, will never consider any form of amnesty, according to The New York Times.
"You can't separate the Dream Act kids from those who came across the border with a pack of contraband on their back, and they can't tell me how they can do that," King said. "Once you start down that line you're destroying the rule of law."
Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., told The New York Times that when the House eventually passes a bill the only thing he is certain about is that it will not be identical to the Senate bill.
"They will both deal with the topic of immigration," Lankford said. "That may be the only common ground they have."
