Wall Street Journal
By Sara Murray and Corey Boles
June 5, 2013
The
path for an overhaul of immigration laws got a bit rockier Wednesday,
as some House conservatives spurned a broad Senate bill.
Two
authors of the Senate bill, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and
Jeff Flake of Arizona, attended a meeting of House conservatives to
discuss the immigration revamp they had crafted as part of a bipartisan
group.
But
as House Republicans trickled out of the meeting, many were unconvinced
of the need for a broad-ranging, single bill. "I think conservative
House Republicans are going to be less inclined to do an overarching,
comprehensive immigration reform," said Georgia Rep. Paul Broun.
House
conservatives said they preferred a step-by-step approach that would
consider discrete parts of the immigration system one at a time.
"I
want to see border security front and center, and then you work on the
other issues, whether it's guest workers or student visas," said Rep.
Steve Scalise (R., La.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the
group of conservatives that hosted the Wednesday meeting.
The comprehensive Senate bill is expected to reach that chamber's floor next week.
Supporters
of a broad approach say a single bill is the only way to balance all
the competing interests involved in immigration. For example, people who
want to grant legal status to many illegal immigrants say that
provision is most likely to pass if it is paired with border-security
provisions that conservatives favor.
Indeed, Mr. Broun cast doubt on provisions of the Senate bill that give legal status and citizenship to illegal immigrants.
"I
cannot vote for a bill that gives amnesty to illegal immigrants in this
country,'' he said. "I think there are a lot of conservatives who are
in that position." Mr. Broun is running for the seat being vacated next
year by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R., Ga.), who is retiring from the Senate.
There
was, however, a bright spot for another immigration effort. After
teetering near collapse Wednesday over a disagreement about health-care
benefits for illegal immigrants, a bipartisan immigration group in the
House said it was back on track to craft a broad-ranging bill.
"Things
are looking up," Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) said after a meeting of
the group. "We found a way to move forward." About 80% of their bill is
drafted, he said, and the health-care issue was the last major hitch.
The
immigration effort's next hurdle comes in the Senate, where the bill's
authors hope to win broad bipartisan support before it moves on to the
more conservative House. The group who wrote the bill is working out
whether to alter some provisions, particularly on border security, to
draw more Republicans.
"What's
stymieing efforts in the Senate is that we don't have the votes to pass
it, because too many members on both sides of the aisle do not believe
it goes far enough on border security," Mr. Rubio said. It often takes
60 votes in the 100-member Senate to pass legislation.
Mr.
Rubio and other Republicans are looking to change a provision in the
Senate bill that calls for the Department of Homeland Security to write a
border-security plan within six months. The plan acts as a trigger to
allow illegal immigrants to gain provisional legal status.
Despite
concern from immigration advocates, some Democrats said they are open
to beefing up the bill's border-security provisions, including Sen.
Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.). "Many of our colleagues feel that's
important," Mr. Schumer said.
Meanwhile,
as the House group neared a compromise—and averted collapse—Wednesday,
it lost one member. Idaho Rep. Raúl Labrador, who was one of four
Republican group members, bowed out of the talks, his spokesman said.
Before
officially pulling out of the group, Mr. Labrador said Wednesday he
planned to be part of the immigration debate regardless of how the group
effort played out. "I am still personally planning to introduce some
bills," he said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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