Thread: Key lawmaker sees 200 House Dems backing immigration bill

The Hill
Key lawmaker sees 200 House Dems backing immigration bill
By Jordan Fabian - 07/14/10 08:25 AM ET

A key House Democrat said Wednesday that 200 of his colleagues support his immigration reform legislation, putting them short of the majority needed to pass it.

Despite being 17 votes short of a majority, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) expressed hope that the House could pass legislation before the November midterm elections.

"I am very confident the House can act quickly on legislation," he said on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" program. "We are still going to need Republican support ... We don't need a lot of Republicans, but you need some."

Immigration reform legislation has stalled in this Congress alongside other remaining Democratic priorities such as climate and energy legislation. Republicans in the Senate have used the upper chamber's rules to slow down the process on several pieces of legislation that have already passed the House.

Democratic leaders have also been reluctant to bring up more legislation that could pose tough votes for some of their vulnerable members following the work on such sweeping measures as healthcare reform and Wall Street legislation. Right now the House is made up of 255 Democrats and 178 Republicans.

But several signs have emerged recently suggesting Democrats could try to push through an immigration bill. House Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.) said Tuesday that there is still a chance Congress could tackle the issue this year.

President Barack Obama also gave a speech last week urging Congress to act on an immigration reform bill after meeting with grassroots leaders and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), of which Gutierrez is the immigration task force chairman. The administration also filed a lawsuit against Arizona for its controversial immigration law, which helped spark the immigration debate in April.

The House is holding a hearing on immigration reform Tuesday morning.

But Republicans have balked at supporting the Democrats' proposal, saying that the southern border needs to be secured before any immigration bill is taken up that includes a path to citizenship for illegals.

But the Illinois Democrat said border security has already been enhanced with more guards, technology and spending. He argued that it is also important to "deincentivize [illegals]" by allowing them to come to the country legally and cracking down on employers who hire them.

"Unless you deal with it in a holistic fashion, are you really getting security?" he asked, adding later: "We're for border security; we're for new technology.

"[But] sometimes it takes political courage and fresight, and that's why we have elections in November," he said.

Gutierrez declined to name the Republicans he is courting, but he praised Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for his work on prior reform efforts.

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... ation-bill

Quote:
"Gutierrez declined to name the Republicans he is courting, but he praised Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for his work on prior reform efforts."

Jeff Flake, like Ariz. Sen. John McCain, ought to have to register as an "Agent of a Foreign Government", i.e., Mexico. It was he who let the cat out of the bag as follows (roughly quoted): "The dirty little secret is that we (those in power in the U.S. government) simply are not going to enforce immigration laws".

I believe that another Arizona Congressman who has retired after many years was responsible for making sure that the Border Patrol was never allowed to establish permanent checkpoints anywhere along the "Tucson Sector" of Arizona's border with Mexico, which perhaps accounts for the present violence and chaos there. This was directly opposed to the policy used along the "Yuma Sector", which is the second and equally busy crosssing point into Arizona, and which, we are told, "has been contained". I believe that this former "servant of the people" now works in an advisory capacity to one of several fashionable liberal "migrants' rights (sic) think tanks" in Washington, D.C.

Added -

That Congresman was
Jim Kolbe
U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona
1985-2007

[edit] Current employment

Kolbe is now a fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank and a consultant at Kissinger McLarty Associates. He focuses on issues that were his priorities when he was in Congress — TRADE, aid and MIGRATION. In the fall semesters 2007-2009, he taught a class on TRADE and GLOBALIZATION at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in Tucson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Kolbe

I would not trust Gutierrez I doubt he has that much support.

Why are the victims of illegal immigration always left out of these meetings? Why is there absolutely NO attention given to victims of Identity Theft, Social Security Fraud and all the other crimes committed by these criminals?

Any Politician who favors Amnesty is a TRAITOR to American citizens, and the rule of law.

Texan123 wrote:

Why are the victims of illegal immigration always left out of these meetings? Why is there absolutely NO attention given to victims of Identity Theft, Social Security Fraud and all the other crimes committed by these criminals?

American citizens do not seem to matter. They are not the media darlings of open borders, special interests, and the mainstream media.

Psalm 139:14

Originally Posted by Richard

I would not trust Gutierrez I doubt he has that much support.

Valid point, especially in light of what the Dem governors and moderate House Dems are reportedly saying behind closed doors. But we have to stay active and not take anything for granted.

Georgia Peach--I know citizens do not matter anymore.
It just boggles my mind how upside down this country has become in such a short time. Right is now wrong and wrong is right.