Reuters: Politics: House won't consider immigration bill unless Republicans back it

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House won't consider immigration bill unless Republicans back it Jun 18th 2013, 17:20 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Republican senators seek border compromise for immigration bill Mon, Jun 17 2013 Justices invalidate Arizona voter registration law Mon, Jun 17 2013 Arizona lawmakers pass Medicaid expansion Thu, Jun 13 2013 Senate rejects Republican effort to gut immigration bill Thu, Jun 13 2013 Cuban-American Democrat is Rubio counterweight on immigration Thu, Jun 13 2013 Analysis & Opinion What does Apple really owe taxpayers? A lot, actually. The 'intelligence industrial complex' House Speaker John Boehner holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington March 21, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Gary Cameron By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON | Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:20pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will not consider immigration legislation that does not have the support of most Republicans, Speaker John Boehner said on Tuesday, casting doubt on prospects for reform as the Senate prepares to vote on a bill giving millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens. "I don't see any way of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that doesn't have a majority support of Republicans," Boehner told reporters after meeting with his caucus. The House is controlled by Republicans and Boehner determines what legislation the chamber gets to vote on. The Senate is controlled by Democrats. Many Democrats had hoped that Boehner would allow the full House to consider the Senate's legislation without the backing of most Republicans as he has done in the past with tax hikes on the wealthy and the renewal of the violence against women act. But Boehner said he would not do this on immigration laws. "Any immigration reform bill that is going to go into law ought to have the majority of both parties if we are really serious about making it happen," Boehner said. The Senate's legislation, which was originally crafted by eight Democratic and Republican senators, revamps the immigration system, increases the number of work visas and sets aside billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to bolster border security. But the bill also puts an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship - a policy many House Republicans oppose. It is unclear how House Republicans and the Democrat-controlled Senate will resolve their differences over how to deal with the undocumented immigrants, many who are from Mexico. Boehner did not address the issue and said the Senate's bill does not do enough to secure the southern border with Mexico. "I think the Senate bill is weak on border security. I think the internal enforcement mechanisms are weak and the triggers are almost laughable," he said. Senate Democrats are aiming to pass the legislation before the July 4th holiday, but the bill cannot become law unless the House passes identical legislation. Boehner said he was holding a special meeting July 10 to discuss immigration reforms and listen to rank and file members. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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