Boehner says no immigration deal until Obama enforces laws
By Stephen Dinan and Dave Boyer
The Washington Times
Updated: 12:50 p.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2014
http://media.washtimes.com/media/ima...3bafb271ec6694
But the initial move to stop deporting children, combined with a number of other policies designed to stop deporting rank-and-file illegal immigrants, hurt his credibility with Republicans.
Indeed, after years of record-setting deportations, Mr. Obama reversed course in 2013 and deportations dropped substantially.
Meanwhile, arrests of illegal immigrants along the southwest border are up — a signal that illegal immigration across that border is once again on the rise.
Congressional Democrats said Mr. Boehner’s explanation rang hollow, saying they didn’t believe most in the GOP ever wanted to pass a bill.
“I don’t place much stock in this — what I would call a rationalization of trust,” said Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Democratic whip in the House.
The White House said Mr. Obama is still optimistic.
“We’re just going to work steadily on this issue, and we believe it’ll get done,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney. “We remain optimistic about the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform in 2014.”
As for Mr. Boehner’s challenge to the White House to restore trust, Mr. Carney said the Obama administration has already acted.
“The president has an exceptional record of improving border security,” he said.
Mr. Carney said House Republicans “have come a significant way toward the middle” in the immigration debate.
“We’ve made enormous progress in building that consensus,” he said. “We continue to see positive progress, and we’re going to work with Congress to get this done.”
Hispanic groups have warned Republicans that failing to tackle the immigration issue this year will hurt the party in future elections, and many GOP analysts agree with that.
But rank-and-file Republicans in Congress say their constituents place immigration low on the list of pressing issues facing the country.
Also, a report last week by the Eagle Forum argued that immigrants generally lean liberal and so legalizing illegal immigrants and expanding legal channels of immigration will add more Democratic voters in the future.
That report was circulated at the same retreat where Mr. Boehner presented his immigration principles.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...l-obama-enfor/
With Anger Building, Boehner Puts the Brakes on Amnesty
by Matthew Boyle & Jonathan Strong 6 Feb 2014, 9:21 AM PDT
breitbart.com
In an abrupt switch from his months of work to bring immigration reform back from life support, Speaker John Boehner told reporters today that the issue cannot move forward until President Obama proves he can be a trustworthy partner to implement the law as written.
“There's widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. And it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes,” Boehner said.
The change in tack comes after rank-and-file members pushed hard against action on the issue this year when immigration “principles” were unveiled at a retreat last week and top immigration hawks had begun to discuss how they could thwart Boehner in his march to bring the issue to the floor.
In the hours before Boehner made his surprise announcement, lawmakers and aides had told Breitbart News that early discussions had begun about whether to force a special leadership election in the event Boehner moved forward with immigration legislation.
“It’s going to require blood if this happens,” one GOP member said.
At the press conference where he made his surprise announcement, Boehner said Obama has exacerbated the distrust on the issue with his recent vows to act with or without Congress.
“The American people, including many of my members, do not believe that the reform that we're talking about will be implemented as it was intended to be. The President seems to change the health care law on a whim, whenever he likes. Now he's running around the country telling everyone that he's going to keep acting on his own. He keeps talking about his phone and his pen. And he's feeding more distrust about whether he's committed to the rule of law,” Boehner said.
The Ohio Republican didn't fully close the door, saying Obama could work with Republicans to help enact some of their priority bills to rebuild trust and that he would continue to discuss the matter with his conference.
“I'm going to continue to talk to my members about how to move forward, but the president is going to have to do his part as well,” Boehner said.
And anti-amnesty activists were not letting down their guard. "Unfortunately since we know that since the Republican leadership wants to push amnesty...we can’t trust these declarations," said Rosemary Jenks, the director of government relations for NumbersUSA.
Prior to putting the brakes on immigration reform, Boehner had become increasingly isolated in his strong push for action.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday that it's unlikely any legislation could be enacted this year, a major blow, and GOP and conservative pundits had repeatedly questioned whether moving forward made any political sense.
GOP lawmakers, meanwhile, loudly complained that Obama was not a trustworthy partner when Boehner unveiled his immigration “principles” at a retreat in Cambridge, Maryland last week.
In the days after the retreat, Boehner continued to move forward, issuing promotional materials about the principles. Rep. Jeff Denham of California, a top proponent for moving on immigration, told Breitbart News that leadership wanted to bring legislation to the floor as soon as possible.
With Boehner continuing to march forward, top immigration hawks had begun to organize much more dramatic responses to try to head him off.
“There has been talk among House Members about forcing new leadership elections in the House to include a new Speaker if they try to bring an immigration bill to the floor this year,” a senior GOP aide said Wednesday. The GOP member and two other aides said such discussions had occurred among House Republicans.
“I think it should cost him his speakership,” Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) told Roll Call about if Boehner brought immigration to the floor in 2014.
Boehner survived a mutiny in early 2013 after the fiscal cliff showdown. But it is unclear how widespread the discussions about challenging Boehner over immigration were – several lawmakers who were part of the earlier coup attempt said they hadn't heard anything about any such effort relating to immigration.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...kes-on-amnesty
Boehner hits brakes on immigration overhaul
Published February 06, 2014
FoxNews.com
House Speaker John Boehner hit the brakes on immigration legislation on Thursday, saying it will be "difficult" to move any bill in the current climate -- comments that signal a rough road ahead for one of President Obama's top 2014 priorities.
Obama had urged Congress to pass immigration reform during his State of the Union address last week. A glimmer of common ground appeared days later when, during the House Republican retreat, GOP leaders issued guidelines for what they would accept in a comprehensive immigration overhaul. The guidelines included a path to legal status for some illegal immigrants.
But Boehner, under pressure from conservative rank-and-file members to slow things down, said Thursday that lawmakers remain concerned about the administration's willingness to enforce immigration law.
"There's widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, and it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes," Boehner said.
The speaker said he'd continue to look for a way forward.
"I have made clear for 15 months the need for the Congress and the administration to work together on the issue of immigration reform. It needs to get done. I'm going to continue to talk to my members about how to move forward but the president is going to have to do his part as well," he said.
Though Boehner did not go so far in his remarks, senior Republican sources told Fox News that Boehner is effectively putting up a stop sign on immigration legislation.
"Tap the brakes on immigration reform," one senior aide said. "Just don't say dead."
Another said Boehner doesn't feel there is any way he can move a bill when significant "trust" issues remain between GOP lawmakers and the president.
The remarks are a shift from the tone of the House GOP document released last week, which stressed that any immigration bill must strengthen security and enforcement, but opened the door to allowing some illegal immigrants to achieve legal status. Though many Democrats ultimately want illegal immigrants to get a path to citizenship, Obama and others indicated they'd be willing to negotiate.
Boehner's comments now throw into doubt whether the White House can convince House Republicans to pursue a bill this year.
The White House, though, made clear that it will continue to push Congress to act.
"We remain optimistic about the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform in 2014," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...tics+-+Text%29
