The internetis abuzz with reportsthat John Boehner and the House Republicans are in the process of drafting their“principles of immigration reform.” Adocument that purports to outline the GOP’s position on all facets of the immigrationdebate: border security, legalization of the undocumented, modernization of quotasand caps, enforcement, and employment verification.
The release of the “principles” isthe eulogy for lastsummer’s Senate Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, Senate Bill744. That bill was the result ofbrokering by Senate leadership from both Republicans and Democrats. Despite the bipartisan nature of the bill itnever was seriously considered by the House – mainly because conservative andtea party House members thought that S.744 was too lenient on punishment forthe undocumented. The Senate Bill calledfor a minimum of 13 years before citizenship.
Conservative Republicans other problemwith S.77 was they wanted a secure southern border before any materiallegalization program. It seems thatfully securing the 2,000 southern border is an impossibility without a massiveexpenditure.
House Maj. Leader Boehner (R-OH) isexpected to release the “principles of immigration reform” in advance of thePresident’s January 28, 2014 State of the Union address. These two issues – security on the southernborder and legalization — are the key ones to look for in the Republicans “principlesof immigration reform” release. If theGOP really wants immigration reform in 2014 these two issues will be raised ina way that allows for a compromise with Democrats. On the other hand if the “principles of immigrationreform” contains unrealistic security aims and onerous legalization pathways,then prospects of immigration reform in 2014 will suffer the same fate asS.744.