Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Steve Benen reports Key House Republican looks to kill immigration reform:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) rejected comprehensive reform in February, but left himself some wiggle room ever since.
That is, until yesterday.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) didn't breed much optimism on Monday about
his plans for comprehensive immigration reform, telling a town hall
crowd that the House would act, but not on a "special pathway to
citizenship" that Democrats support. […]Goodlatte said he sympathized with young undocumented immigrants who
wanted to gain legal status so they can work and attend college more
easily. But he said he would not support moving forward before other
border security and enforcement mechanisms were in place. He said he
also opposes allowing a special pathway to citizenship for other
undocumented immigrants — such as Dreamers' parents — that he feared
may encourage more unauthorized immigration.
Remember, Goodlatte may not be a household name, but
when it comes to the House process, he's as important as nearly anyone
on Capitol Hill. Immigration reform, if it moves at all in the House,
will start with his Judiciary Committee — and he intends to oppose any
bill that enjoys Senate and White House support. Goodlatte will support something, but not a pathway to citizenship.
As we've discussed
before, a pathway to citizenship in an immigration-reform bill isn't
just some luxury add-on element — it's largely the point of working on
reform in the first place. This provision is at the heart of the entire
endeavor. Goodlatte's willingness to tackle the issue, but without a
mechanism to help those undocumented immigrants who are already here, is
effectively the same thing as opposing reform in its entirety.
This
is not to say immigration reform is dead, but I'm increasingly of the
opinion that a solution in the House, if there's going to be a solution
at all, will rely on a discharge petition.
Or the TanMan can ignore the bogus Hastert Rule and turn to Democrats to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Boehner should do the right thing and then retire to a life of leisure and golf.