Wall Street Journal
By Laura Meckler
May 12, 2014
Tom
Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, predicted that
Congress would pass immigration legislation this year and said
Republicans shouldn’t bother to field
a presidential candidate in 2016 if they don’t.
His
comments echo warnings from others, including high-profile Republicans,
that the GOP cannot win if it does not improve its showing with the
fast-growing Latino electorate,
and cannot do that without approving an immigration package. The Senate
passed a bipartisan bill last summer but it has languished in the
GOP-controlled House ever since.
“If
the Republicans don’t do it, they shouldn’t bother to run a candidate
in 2016,” Mr. Donohue said at an event Monday on infrastructure issues.
“Think about that. Think
about who the voters are. I just did that to get everybody’s
attention.” (His comments are at about the one hour mark on this C-Span
video.
Some
House Republicans have said they want to pass immigration legislation,
including legal status and the chance for citizenship for those in the
U.S. illegally. But
many in the House are loathe to take on an issue the divides the party
during an election year.
Mr.
Donohue tried to knock down one popular notion that Congress can still
tackle the issue next year, ahead of the 2016 election. “We’re
absolutely crazy if we don’t
take advantage of having passed an immigration bill out of the Senate
because going back and doing it again might be harder,” he said.
Beyond
politics, he said stalling on immigration will have economic
ramifications. He said immigrants are needed for all sorts of jobs,
including health care. “If you
don’t do it (pass immigration), you’re going to go to the nursing home
and pick up your mother-in-law and bring her home,” he said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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