Nov. 23, 2013 4:42 PM

Written by
Emerson Marcus
rgj.com

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said he supported “earned pathways to citizenship” and making immigration reform a focus for the U.S. House on Saturday during a small rally in front of his office.

But he added it’s “doubtful” it will happen this year and he would not say whether he supported the U.S. Senate’s bill passed in June.

Moments before an immigration reform march from Amodei’s office just south of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center to downtown Reno, members of the advocacy group Mi Familia Vota asked Amodei where he stood on the issue. More than 300 participated in the march, said Cory Hernandez, of Immigration Reform for Nevada.

Terri Domitrovich, an immigration advocate, asked Amodei: “Will you present to (U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio) that this reform is founded upon principles of justice, family unity, earned pathways to citizenship and the root causes of illegal entry for the millions of undocumented people who are criminals living in the United States?”

Amodei said, “Yes ... you have me on the record” and thanked the crowd for coming.

“Immigration is one of the top three or five issues in the nation and it needs to be dealt with regardless of what your politics are,” Amodei said.

Amodei, wearing an Army physical fitness jacket, said he first heard about the rally Friday night.

“We need some help getting (immigration reform) to the front of the line,” Amodei said. “... We started but we hoped to finish with the House work this year. With two more weeks of floor time, that’s doubtful this will happen this year.”

The bill, which was originally expected to go before the House in October, would beef up border security and present a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented people.

On Saturday, Amodei said reasons for its delay were based on politics and the “difficulty of getting anything to the floor,” which he said is something the House needs to work on. He also attributed other legislation bogging down the process, such as the government shutdown and discussions on Syria.

“The last time we dealt with (immigration reform) was 1986,” he said. “So it is appropriate after that amount of time has passed to revisit this and learn from 1986.”

The Democrat-led Senate in June passed a sweeping, bipartisan immigration bill that would increase border security, overhaul the visa system and provide a pathway to citizenship for most of the 12million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

House GOP leaders say they do not plan to take up the Senate bill, preferring a piecemeal approach that would require votes on a series of separate bills. House committees have approved five bills, including legislation to strengthen border security and to require all employers to use a federal database to ensure they are hiring people who are legally eligible to work in the United States.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20131123/...on-t-come-year