Reuters
June 12, 2014
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Immigration reform advocates said on Wednesday that U.S.
House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary election
loss spelled doom
for immigration legislation and that they planned to step up pressure
on the White House to enact changes without waiting for Congress.
David
Brat, who scored a major upset in defeating the No. 2 Republican in
Congress in Tuesday's primary in Virginia, labeled immigration as a
major point of contention
between himself and Cantor, crediting his own hardline stance in his
victory.
Some
advocates fear that House Republicans will interpret the primary's
results as a sign they should avoid entangling themselves with
immigration legislation before November's
congressional elections.
"Many
Republicans will react reflexively and say: 'Let's not touch this
issue,'" said Frank Sharry, executive director of the America's Voice
immigration advocacy group.
Seeing
the chances of legislation dim with Cantor's defeat, immigration
advocates cast doubt on Wednesday on President Barack Obama's strategy
to hold back on executive
action until he has given the Republican-controlled House of
Representatives a last chance to act.
Obama
said last month he would be delaying much-anticipated changes to the
nation's deportation policy in hopes the House would act on passing
comprehensive immigration
before this August's legislative recess, which is seen as the last
practical window for passing a bill under this Congress.
"If
there were doubts before, this is sort of the lid to put on it. We now
need the president to act," said Eddie Carmona, campaign manager for
PICO National Network's
Campaign for Citizenship.
Obama, speaking at a fundraiser on Wednesday, rejected the view that Cantor's loss spelled the end of immigration reform.
"It's
interesting to listen to the pundits and the analysts and some of the
conventional wisdom talks about how the politics of immigration reform
seem impossible now.
I fundamentally reject that," Obama said.
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