Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who belongs to the Gang of Eight, stated on Sunday that the bill crafted by his group will pass the Senate by the Fourth of July. The bill of the gang of Eight will be introduced in the Senate on the 10th of June and he stated that the bill would be supported by the members of the Senate and get 70 votes. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen stated that the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill will not move in the House that is controlled by the Republicans even if the bill makes it through the Senate and she also added that her party will have its own product. 8 members who belong to the House are crafting smaller immigration reform bills and they have already reached a deal but they have not yet introduced their bill.
US Representative John Boehner said that the House will work in its own way and that it will not simply pass any bill that the Senate passes. Republicans focus more on fixing the country’s broken immigration system and members of the Republican party will soon introduce the bills they are crafting. Their bills are likely to include stricter border security measures. Most of the Republicans favor a piecemeal approach and they do not want a larger legislation like the legislation of the Gang of Eight. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen stated that it is still unclear whether the Republicans will go for a comprehensive legislation or consider smaller bills.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, said that the unauthorized residents in the country must not be granted US citizenship and that the US Congress must not pass a bill that establishes a road-map to citizenship for such unauthorized residents. Some members of the Republican party are still against immigration reform and Senator Chuck Schumer, stated that the Republican party will soon become a minority party if it continues to oppose immigration reform. Nevertheless, the members of the Gang of Eight who worked together and crafted S. 744: Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, believe that their bill would get 70 votes and pass the Senate by the Fourth of July.