The entire federal government is shutdown and this US government shutdown is likely to push immigration reform plans to the back burner. The broken immigration system of the country needs to be fixed and immigration reform is needed to attract the Hispanic voters, according to the activists.
The Senate has already passed an immigration reform legislation and now it is the House that needs to act. The Democrats in the House have released their own version of a reform legislation. Rep. Nancy Pelosi along with few other Democrats in the House announced a plan at a news conference on Capitol Hill. This bill of the House Democrats would legalize several undocumented immigrants living in the country. The new legislation would also stiffen border security.
Though some Republicans say that this bill may not get a vote in the chamber, this bill makes it clear that the lawmakers still remember immigration reform and that the fight of the immigration activists has not been forgotten. This legislation is similar to that of the legislation that made its way through the US Senate.
Members of the House are not in favor of the bill passed by the Senate. They want smaller bills and not a comprehensive reform bill. Immigration reform advocates and the Democrats believe that the new bill would pass the House. This is because 26 members who belong to the Republican party have stated that they would back an immigration bill with a path to US citizenship. However, this bill must be brought to the floor by Speaker John Boehner, for a vote.
Immigration activists now feel discouraged due to the government shutdown. They feel that immigration reform may not survive the shutdown. However, immigration advocates have planned 160 events across the country. They want to remind the Republicans of the consequences of not passing comprehensive immigration reform. The Republican party would become a minority party if it fails to act.
Republicans now want to repeal Obamacare and their focus is now not on immigration reform. But activists believe that the Republicans who have walked away from immigration reform would soon tackle this issue. According to the lawmakers, immigration reform will not be pushed out of the spotlight.
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