The Hill
By Martin Matishak
May 16, 2014
Rep.
Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) on Friday plans to file an amendment to the
annual defense policy bill that would grant green cards to young illegal
immigrants who serve in
the military.
Denham
dismissed concerns that his measure, dubbed the ENLIST Act, might
disrupt passage of the defense authorization bill, noting he has 50
bipartisan co-sponsors.
“I know we have the votes to pass it,” he told The Hill in a phone interview. “We’re where we need to be for a floor vote.”
Denham
attempted to include the immigration measure in last year’s defense
budget blueprint but withdrew it in deference to colleagues who did not
want the politically
divisive issue added to the must-pass legislation.
“I
was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt last year so that we
could have a stand-alone bill,” he explained. “We have yet to get a
hearing date on our stand-alone
bill so I’m moving forward with the amendment.”
House
Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) has
emphatically opposed incorporating any immigration language into the
defense authorization bill.
It
remains to be seen whether or not the House Rules Committee will allow
Denham's amendment to debated as lawmakers consider the budget
blueprint.
Denham
said McKeon was aware he would introduce the amendment and pointed out
that Senate Democrats are currently debating whether to include an
immigration provision
when they take up their version of the defense policy bill next week.
Heritage
Action, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, this
week urged its supporters to actively oppose Denham’s amendment.
Denham,
an Air Force veteran, described the conservative group’s call to arms
as an “interesting position to take” since America is a “nation of
immigrants.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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