International Business Times
By Laura Matthews
March 26, 2014
A
discharge petition launched Wednesday by House Democrats to demand a
vote on comprehensive immigration reform is certain to fail, but it
returned the issue to the spotlight
ahead of the November elections.
Arguing
that the votes to overhaul the broken system are there, House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelsoi, D-Calif., is using the procedural tactic to gain
the support of lawmakers
to force House Speaker John Boehner’s hand on a floor vote.
Democrats
have called for a vote on H.R. 15 for months, but even before it was
first introduced, the House GOP leadership said it was dead on arrival.
That’s because the
bipartisan House bill is similar to one passed by the Senate last June,
which included an earned pathway to citizenship for millions of
undocumented immigrants.
Pelosi said she will sign the petition.
However, Pelosi has expressed her doubts about the chances of success.
“We’ll
never get to 218 on the discharge petition,” Pelosi told Sirius XM
Radio’s Julie Mason. “Because the Republicans generally won’t sign, but
the fact that it is there
and the outside mobilization is saying all we want is a vote.”
Despite
the doomed reality of the procedure, immigration reform advocates and
lawmakers say the pressure is on the Republicans. Earlier this year,
House GOP leadership
announced a set of principles they intended to use to end gridlock on
the issue, only to retract them less than a week later. They cited a
trust deficit between the White House and Republican House members as
reasons for the continued the delay.
But
for those on the political right who publicly voiced support for
immigration, supporters say this is their time to prove their
commitment.
“This
is their chance to play a role in actually making that happen,” said
Rocio Saenz, executive vice president of the Service Employees
International Union. “This vote
will also tell us exactly what side of the issue each member is on. Are
they with the extremists in their caucus who want to block immigration
reform at all costs, or are they with the millions of families who are
suffering under our broken system?”
Even faith-based community organizations are waiting to see where Republicans stand.
“If
they block reform yet again, the fight is not over,” said Eddie
Carmona, campaign manager for PICO National Network’s Campaign for
Citizenship. “The longer House Republicans
refuse to act, the harder we will fight to ensure the administration
will. We will not stand for excuses coming from the Capitol, nor from
the White House.”
Lawmakers
who stand with the activists say that Republicans’ handling of
immigration reform in the next few months will determine the political
landscape for decades.
Latinos represent the fastest growing voting bloc in the nation.
Researchers have found that when Hispanics go to the polls, they do so
out of a sense of community and to advance the group’s cause.
“[Republicans]
can sign their names to put their country before their party, put their
constituents before their ideologues, and pledge to work with the
Democrats to do
what Republican and Democratic voters want them to do,” said Rep. Luis
Gutierrez, D-Ill. “The question is whether Republicans allow the
majority to rule or continue to hide behind the ‘majority of the
majority’ straightjacket they have put themselves in.
“How
Republican Leadership handles the immigration issue for the next
several months will go a long way towards determining national politics
for the next several decades,”
he added. “Republicans can choose to be a nationally competitive party
that supports legal immigration or a regional minority party that can
only muster support for deportation.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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