House Republicans Work Immigration Behind Scenes

WASHINGTON September 30, 2013 (AP)
By ERICA WERNER Associated Press
Associated Press

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But so far, there's been no House GOP bill taking on the trickiest policy issue for Republicans: what to do about those already here illegally.

Goodlatte would allow immigrants here illegally to obtain legal work status, and from there, they could use the existing routes to citizenship ..

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House Republicans Work Immigration Behind Scenes

Immigration overhaul legislation has been dormant in the House for months, but a few Republicans are working behind the scenes to advance it at a time the Capitol is immersed in a partisan brawl over government spending and President Barack Obama's health care law.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, has been discussing possible legal status for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. He's also been working with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a fellow Virginia Republican, on a bill offering citizenship to immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

Reps. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, and Ted Poe, R-Texas, are working on a plan to create a visa program allowing more lower-skilled workers into the country.

Goodlatte and the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, hold out hopes for floor action by late October on a series of immigration bills that already have passed their committees.

"I would think that would be the next agenda item in the queue after we're done with this mess," McCaul said this past week, referring to bitter divisions over the health law, the level of government spending and the growing federal debt.

The attention of House GOP leaders seems certain to remain squarely focused on the fiscal disputes until they are resolved, leaving immigration on a back burner for some time to come. But lawmakers and outside advocates insist that three months after the Democratic-led Senate passed a sweeping immigration bill, the issue is showing signs of life in the Republican-run House.

"Despite the appearance that would suggest everyone in Washington is focused on one thing, work is going on on other issues beneath the radar," said Tamar Jacoby, head of ImmigrationWorks USA, a coalition of small businesses that supports comprehensive immigration legislation.

Goodlatte has made it clear he wants to see the issue solved.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other members of the House Republican leadership also support a resolution to an issue that has become a political drag for their party.

While Goodlatte has been outspoken about his desire to get legislation to the floor as soon as possible, House leaders have been more circumspect, adding to the uncertainty about whether or when anything actually will happen.

"Moving immigration forward remains a priority, but right now there's no firm timetable," said Doug Heye, a spokesman for Cantor.

The issue is a top second-term goal for Obama.

House leaders have said they plan a step-by-step approach, in contrast to the comprehensive Senate bill that added billions of dollars in new spending on border security, remade the legal immigration system from top to bottom and created a 13-year path to citizenship for the millions living here illegally.

McCaul's committee has approved a border security bill. Goodlatte's committee has signed off on legislation addressing a range of issues, including visas for high-skilled workers and enforcement of immigration laws.

But so far, there's been no House GOP bill taking on the trickiest policy issue for Republicans: what to do about those already here illegally.

A bill in the works by Cantor and Goodlatte would offer eventual citizenship to immigrants brought here as children. The proposal appears have support from a fair number of Republicans. But many Republicans are wary of backing anything broader that could be perceived as "amnesty" for people who broke U.S. immigration laws to be in this country.

There's no guarantee House Republicans ever will offer a bill to resolve that issue, much less bring it to the floor for a vote.

Still, Goodlatte has outlined in some detail what he would like to see in such a bill, and his approach may contain the seeds of compromise.

Goodlatte would allow immigrants here illegally to obtain legal work status, and from there, they could use the existing routes to citizenship: marrying a U.S. citizen or getting sponsored by an employer or U.S. citizen relative. Such an approach would allow Republicans to deal with millions of people in the U.S. illegally without bestowing a so-called special path to citizenship as the Senate did — a concept that's become toxic to many in the GOP.

Depending on how it's structured, Goodlatte's approach could ultimately result in citizenship for perhaps as many as 7 million immigrants now here illegally, Jacoby estimates. Although Democrats and outside advocates caution that they would have to see the details — because unless problems in the current system are fixed, many fewer could end up benefiting — some say they're encouraged.

"It gives the Republicans a way out and it gets us to where we want to go," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who met recently with Goodlatte along with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., to discuss immigration.

"The Republicans have some people that want zero, we got some folks on our side that want 100 percent, but eventually we've got to sit down and talk," Cuellar said.

Goodlatte's staff declined to make him available for an interview, but at a forum this month with Latino GOP leaders he defended his approach. "That will not result in every single person who came here unlawfully getting all the way to citizenship, but I feel very strongly in my conversations with people it would be a major solution to the problem," he said.

House Democratic leaders have grown impatient with Republicans' inaction and are looking at introducing a sweeping immigration bill of their own — a modified version of the legislation that passed the Senate — in an effort to pressure the GOP. Advocates are promising rallies and protests around the country Oct. 5 to keep up pressure.

"Comprehensive immigration reform is within our reach," Gutierrez said at a news conference. "We have the ugly, bitter, partisan fight, and in the middle we must continue to see the light to get this done."


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireS...cenes-20416325

Where Has Paul Ryan Been During the Latest Shutdown Debate?

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Of course, the chairman has been keeping busy. Besides working behind the scenes to find a compromise on immigration, he is writing a book, titled “Where Do We Go From Here?”

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With Congress locked in near-continuous budget and debt limit battles, one influential lawmaker has been noticeably quiet this year.

Rep. Paul D. Ryan, the House Budget chairman and the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential candidate, has been a trusted, go-to source on budget and fiscal issues in the party for years. Yet the Wisconsin Republican has not, seemingly, been at the forefront of the most recent fight over a stopgap spending bill, nor has he been a loud voice on the debt limit.

And that has some Republicans scratching their heads.

“It’s a legitimate question. I have no idea,” Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah said in response to a question about why Ryan hasn’t been more vocal.

“I don’t know that I can really answer that question,” said House Agriculture Chairman Frank D. Lucas of Oklahoma. “Maybe he’s got a lot of things going on. I just don’t know.”

Republican after Republican spoke highly of the GOP star, saying Ryan remains a thought-leader in the conference.

“He is certainly someone that all of us look to for his ability as a budgetary technician,” said Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona. “His advice, I think, is always not only insightful, but has a compelling impact on most of the members of the conference.”

But even aides who note that Ryan has been vocal behind closed doors say he could be more active.

“Members obviously trust and respect his position on these issues — it’d be helpful to hear more from him in selling our package to the conference,” a senior GOP aide told CQ Roll Call.

Ryan hasn’t been seen standing side by side with leadership selling various continuing resolution or debt limit strategies to the American people, as he once did. Nor has he been seen standing up to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas or bringing a dose of sobering political and economic reality to the fight to defund Obamacare.

Instead, Ryan has largely stayed out of the divisive intraparty battles over budget issues. Though he successfully pushed an austere budget resolution through the House earlier this year, he has said little as spending bills crafted under his blueprint have failed to garner rank-and-file GOP support.

Asked why he hasn’t been more visible on these economic issues, Ryan said he’s still “doing my job.”

“Just because you haven’t seen me on TV every day — I say things when I have something meaningful to say,” Ryan told CQ Roll Call.

Members and aides say Ryan has been quietly engaged and engaging.

“Chairman Ryan continues to be a leader on these issues,” a House leadership aide told CQ Roll Call. “He has worked with us on the debt limit and CR strategy.”

Rules Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said Ryan is involved, even if he hasn’t been at the forefront of the issues.

“Paul Ryan has probably the highest level of intellectual curiosity and direction, and is a team leader that keeps us focused on the answer,” Sessions said. “Paul is not trying to jump in front of these, but he certainly is nowhere on the second row.”

But why isn’t Ryan willing to be out front on those issues?

Republicans were not inclined to speculate, but Democrats had little problem spinning theories.

“I think that the basic dynamic of all this is pretty damn clear,” said House Ways and Means ranking member Sander M. Levin. “They’re divided, there really is no alternative. If they don’t come forth, this economy is badly hurt, and I think a lot of Republicans don’t want to be identified with that.”

The Michigan Democrat said he thought there was “a hesitancy to be associated with the result of what happens from their extremism.”

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., suggested that “Paul is a lot more reasonable than some of the people that you do see in the forefront, certainly he’s more reasonable — and anybody is — than Ted Cruz.”

But as much as Democrats — and Republicans — seem to enjoy criticizing Cruz, the Texas senator has raised his profile with the CR and Obamacare issue, perhaps fueling his presidential prospects.

For Ryan, who is also rumored to be in the running for 2016, the calculus might be exactly the opposite.

By seemingly staying out of the fight, Ryan avoids the blowback if the government shut downs, if Obamacare is not defunded and if Congress fails to raise the debt limit.

For Ryan, name recognition is no problem, and he has always aimed to attract mainstream conservatives, many of whom believe the effort to defund Obamacare is a folly.

Staying silent and keeping off camera allows Ryan to let Congress work its will — and if it really came to it, perhaps he could step in as a fresh voice in the Republican Conference to urge his colleagues to keep the government and the global financial market running.

And Ryan may have calculated that his voice is better heard behind closed doors for now.

Of course, the chairman has been keeping busy. Besides working behind the scenes to find a compromise on immigration, he is writing a book, titled “Where Do We Go From Here?”

Many Republicans have been wondering that themselves and could be looking to Ryan to tell them.

http://www3.blogs.rollcall.com/218/paul-ryan/

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