Amnesty is a foregone conclusion. The beginning of the end of the GOP.
Via LVRJ
U.S. Rep. Joe Heck said Tuesday he will continue to push for immigration reform, focusing on efforts to better secure the border and to protect from deportation young illegal immigrants raised in the United States.
President Barack Obama on Monday said he would take executive action on immigration because House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he didn’t plan to bring immigration bills to the House floor this year.
Obama said he would boost border security as tens of thousands of Central American children have crossed the border in hopes of seeking asylum in the U.S., creating a humanitarian crisis. The president said he plans to spend $2 billion on new efforts to deal with the problem.
Heck, R-Nev., said he agreed with Obama’s moves, but he still believes Congress could find the political will to act despite it being an election year and despite objections from conservative House members.
It appears for now that somebody “pulled the plug,” killing immigration reform for this year, Heck said, days after he said the issue was “on life support.” But he added that he wants the House to bring up a bill that would combine dealing with border security and with so-called DREAMers before the August congressional recess.
“I have not heard the speaker say it’s dead,” Heck said. “So maybe some pieces (of immigration reform) might get out. … If we can get the two things done before the August recess” there might even be a chance to approve more measures when Congress returns later in the year, he said.
Heck said he has spoken to Boehner about the matter, including just before the July 4 congressional break this week.
“I would say put border enforcement and the DREAM Act together,” Heck said, mentioning two issues that have bipartisan support.
A year ago, the U.S. Senate passed a broad immigration reform bill, but Heck and other Republicans who want to fix the system don’t agree with the entire package. And the House wants to handle the issue in several bills, including those that have passed House committees, Heck said.
On securing the border, Heck said it’s not necessarily a matter of spending more money to put more border security agents on the ground.
Instead, he said Congress should pass a bill, for example, to require businesses to use e-verify to ensure they are hiring legal immigrants and increase penalties on firms that are caught cheating. Now, about 11 million immigrants live in the country illegally, mostly for job opportunities.