The Hill (Op-Ed)
By Cesar Vargas
October 9, 2015
Last
month, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) unexpectedly announced that he
would resign from Congress after repeatedly fighting losing battles with
the extreme right of
his own party. Boehner's service in Congress is, without question,
worthy of respect.
Nevertheless,
his lack of assertive leadership as Speaker of the House of
Representatives enabled a fringe minority to undermine Congress's
ability to address the nation's
pressing problems, particularly the modernizing of our outdated
immigration system.
Even
when Boehner committed to sharing power by promising to give more
authority to committee chairmen, the Tea Party clamored for nothing less
than full control of Congress.
Leadership
is about confronting not only your political opponents, but also your
political allies, for the sake of achieving legislative solutions that
benefit the entire
nation.
The
outgoing Speaker on various occasions indicated that immigration reform
was necessary, yet offered no timeline. This summer, the Republican
leader told a Dublin audience
of business executives that he would make immigration reform a top
priority on his agenda — despite his own refusal to put the matter up
for a vote.
Boehner
shelved immigration reform simply out of fear of angering the Tea
Party, struggled to push through basic legislation to increase the debt
ceiling, and we now find
ourselves on the brink of another government showdown.
In
spite of all the resistance in Congress, he could still put an
immigration bill forward, and pass it with overwhelming bipartisan
support.
Boehner
is still Speaker of the House of Representatives and he is still
accountable to the nation. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 72
percent of Americans
think undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in this country
if they meet certain requirements.
With the nation behind immigration reform, why does Boehner repeatedly get cold feet?
Recently
on immigration, Pope Francis said: "Is this not what we want for our
own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather
view them as persons,
seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as
best we can to their situation."
Boehner
hinted that Francis's visit to Congress motivated his decision to
resign. However, he should not use the pope to justify his retreat;
rather, should use the pope's
message and moral authority to pass immigration reform that keeps
families together.
In
an age of Trump-brand anti-immigrant extremism, the country needs
strong leadership from our elected leaders. Boehner's unwillingness to
lead demonstrates his inability
to escape from the clutches of a nativist wing that will oppose him no
matter the direction.
A legacy of leadership is not necessarily accumulated over decades; it can be earned in one defining moment.
The
Speaker can still take important congressional action in the last few
days he has left. John Boehner is a good and rational person and knows
he can make a change on
the way out — but whether he will, we will soon find out.
The country, however, shouldn't hold its breath.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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