Rejecting the idea of voting directly on an immigration reform bill approved last month by the U.S. Senate, Republican leaders in the House emerged from a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill saying they would move forward on immigration reform in a "step-by-step" approach.
Labeling the Senate immigration plan flawed, GOP leaders led by Speaker John Boehner issued a written statement after their Republican conference meeting, rejecting the idea of a "single, massive, Obamacare-like bill" on immigration reform.
Here is the statement issued to reporters:
"Today House Republicans affirmed that rather than take up the flawed legislation rushed through the Senate, House committees will continue their work on a step-by-step, common-sense approach to fixing what has long been a broken system. The American people want our border secured, our laws enforced, and the problems in our immigration system fixed to strengthen our economy. But they don't trust a Democratic-controlled Washington, and they're alarmed by the president's ongoing insistence on enacting a single, massive, Obamacare-like bill rather than pursuing a step-by-step, common-sense approach to actually fix the problem. The president has also demonstrated he is willing to unilaterally delay or ignore significant portions of laws he himself has signed, raising concerns among Americans that this administration cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises to secure the border and enforce laws as part of a single, massive bill like the one passed by the Senate."
Individual Republicans who are strongly opposed to immigration reform made the case in an even more blunt approach, using the Speaker's argument that President Obama may just ignore the details of any border security plan.
"Trusting Obama w/ border security is like trusting Bill Clinton w/ your daughter," tweeted Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), who led a rebellion against Boehner at the start of this Congress.
"We must have a credible border security strategy in place before reforming our legal immigration system," said Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI).
No mention was made in the statement of when immigration reform would be voted on by the House; lawmakers will leave Washington, D.C. on August 2 and not return until the week after Labor Day.
If you look at the calendar, the House only has 22 scheduled legislative work days between July 11 and September 30.
That's 22 scheduled work days on the House floor spread over 11 weeks. With budget bills, the debt limit and more already likely to take time on the floor - it's hard to see where immigration reform fits in.
