No House Support for Immigration Reform With Pathway To Cit# EB23 - 劳工卡
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/raul-labrador-immigrat
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) warned on Thursday that he won't vote for a
pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and neither will his
fellow House Republicans, a bad sign from someone who is considered one of
the more pro-reform Republicans in the chamber.
"The people that came here illegally knowingly --- I don't think they should
have a path to citizenship," he said on NPR, according to Talking Points
Memo. "If you knowingly violated our law, you violated our sovereignty, I
think we should normalize your status but we should not give you a pathway
to citizenship."
Whether the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in
the United States should be given a pathway to become citizens is shaping
up to be the most contentious issue in the immigration reform debate.
Democrats and some Republicans insist such a provision must be a part of any
reform bill, and a bipartisan Senate group dubbed the "gang of eight"
released a framework that includes one.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday found that 56 percent of
voters think undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United
States and eventually apply for citizenship, while only 10 percent say they
should be able to stay but not become citizens. Thirty percent say
undocumented immigrants should be forced to leave the country.
But Republicans control the House, and many of them are opposed to such a
pathway. Labrador, a former immigration lawyer, said he thinks undocumented
immigrants should receive legal status but not the ability to become a legal
permanent resident or citizen.
He said if Democrats push for a full pathway to citizenship, they will tank
immigration reform and it will be for political reasons.
"If they want a political victory they’re going to draw a fine red line and
they’re going to say, either a pathway to citizenship or nothing else," he
told NPR. "They know that the Republicans in the House are not going to be
able to vote for that, and then they’re going to be able to beat us over
the head in 2014, and say, look, the Republicans don’t like immigrants.
Which is not true."
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee that
handles immigration reform, expressed similar concerns to USA Today earlier
this week.
"When [Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid] says there has to be a path to
citizenship, I wonder whether he's serious about doing immigration reform,"
he said. "You have to come at this with a willingness to look at all the
options and find the common ground."
Some Republicans ave embraced the idea of giving undocumented immigrants a
special road to citizenship. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told reporters on
Wednesday that he supports the "gang of eight" framework.
"We have to remember the 11 million people who are here are people," he told
reporters, according to U.S. News.
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) warned on Thursday that he won't vote for a
pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and neither will his
fellow House Republicans, a bad sign from someone who is considered one of
the more pro-reform Republicans in the chamber.
"The people that came here illegally knowingly --- I don't think they should
have a path to citizenship," he said on NPR, according to Talking Points
Memo. "If you knowingly violated our law, you violated our sovereignty, I
think we should normalize your status but we should not give you a pathway
to citizenship."
Whether the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in
the United States should be given a pathway to become citizens is shaping
up to be the most contentious issue in the immigration reform debate.
Democrats and some Republicans insist such a provision must be a part of any
reform bill, and a bipartisan Senate group dubbed the "gang of eight"
released a framework that includes one.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday found that 56 percent of
voters think undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United
States and eventually apply for citizenship, while only 10 percent say they
should be able to stay but not become citizens. Thirty percent say
undocumented immigrants should be forced to leave the country.
But Republicans control the House, and many of them are opposed to such a
pathway. Labrador, a former immigration lawyer, said he thinks undocumented
immigrants should receive legal status but not the ability to become a legal
permanent resident or citizen.
He said if Democrats push for a full pathway to citizenship, they will tank
immigration reform and it will be for political reasons.
"If they want a political victory they’re going to draw a fine red line and
they’re going to say, either a pathway to citizenship or nothing else," he
told NPR. "They know that the Republicans in the House are not going to be
able to vote for that, and then they’re going to be able to beat us over
the head in 2014, and say, look, the Republicans don’t like immigrants.
Which is not true."
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee that
handles immigration reform, expressed similar concerns to USA Today earlier
this week.
"When [Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid] says there has to be a path to
citizenship, I wonder whether he's serious about doing immigration reform,"
he said. "You have to come at this with a willingness to look at all the
options and find the common ground."
Some Republicans ave embraced the idea of giving undocumented immigrants a
special road to citizenship. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told reporters on
Wednesday that he supports the "gang of eight" framework.
"We have to remember the 11 million people who are here are people," he told
reporters, according to U.S. News.
