Border security likely to kill controversial legislation.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Despite signs late last week from GOP leaders that immigration reform could be headed toward passage this year, some influential members of the party don’t share that sentiment, saying that border security is the biggest concern in need of reform and that it will make or break the Republican stand on immigration reform as a whole.
Talking to George Stephanopolous on ABC News’s “This Week” on Sunday morning, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) called the future of immigration reform “clearly in doubt,” saying that his party’s key points of interest were border security and not giving amnesty to the over 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the US.
If both houses [of Congress] can agree to a reform that is primarily focused on security, “then we might be able to get somewhere,” said Ryan on the television program, “but I just don’t know if that’s going to be the case.” Ryan also said that a key Republican issue is that they all don’t believe in President Barack Obama’s abilities to actually enforce the immigration laws.
The statement stands in slight contrast to what was said after the GOP retreat last week, of which immigration was the key issue. Republican leaders said they were willing to consider a path to immigration for undocumented immigrants in the US, but did say that such people would need to go to the back of the line and wait for a proper green card like everyone else.
Other Republicans chimed in, too, siding with Ryan’s views. In particular, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called the immigration system “completely backwards,” urging for reform but not at the expense of border security, and also calling for more visas to be given to highly skilled workers coming to the US.
“What I believe we need is a system of high walls and a broad gate,” Jindal said. “Right now, we’ve got the opposite. We’ve got low walls and a narrow gate. What I mean by that is we make it very difficult for people to come here legally. We make it very easy for people to come here illegally.”
With regards to bringing workers into the US, Jindal called it “a problem we can address,” and also said that “people [coming] into our country legally because it’s good for us. When people want to come here, work hard, get an education, play by the rules, that’s good for America.”
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com