Lamar Smith: Immigration Reform With Citizenship 'Will Have A Hard Time' In House

Dargwe · Dargwe

Quote:

WASHINGTON -- As the Obama administration pushes forward on immigration reform, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) made clear on Monday that many members of his party are deeply opposed to the White House's plans to insist on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Smith was a longtime head of the House Judiciary Committee -- he is now a member but not the chairman -- and a former leader of the Immigration Subcommittee, and will likely be heavily involved in the lower chamber's efforts for reform.

He told reporters after his remarks at a Center for Immigration Studies event that he predicts an uphill battle for any bill with a pathway to citizenship, but that he hasn't spoken to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) about whether it could be passed. The Center for Immigration Studies supports lowering immigration levels.

"I won't speak for the House, but mass amnesty I think will have a hard time getting through the House," Smith said.

One reason, he said, is that President Barack Obama can't be trusted to deal with "amnesty," particularly after his June 2012 decision to give deferred action to some undocumented young people.

"Based on the president's record, the first lesson we can learn from the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] implementation is you simply can't always believe what the president says," Smith said during his speech. "That is worth remembering when considering how a large-scale amnesty could be implemented."

The Obama administration wants to address immigration in a single comprehensive bill, which will also include a pathway to citizenship for some of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. Smith, on the other hand, has pushed for incremental reform such as the STEM Jobs Act that would give visas to graduates with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Smith said during his speech that he had repeatedly asked for more detail on the deferred action program as head of the House Judiciary Committee, but only received one answer. He said he suspects the administration will refuse to prosecute fraud in the system, but "you can guess how many will be prosecuted," implying it will be zero.

"I think it's going to be a long process and I think, as I mentioned a while ago, when the American people find out what the administration is up to, I think they will hold the Obama administration accountable," he told reporters later. "I just don't think the American people want mass amnesty."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...p_ref=politics

2Face · 2Face

Yes, and Republicans will have a hard time winning the White House even once in the next 3 decades if they don't cooperate this time. Nothing is stopping this force this time. The public wants immigration reform and the President as well.

EditorInChief · EditorInChief

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

Yes, and Republicans will have a hard time winning the White House even once in the next 3 decades if they don't cooperate this time. Nothing is stopping this force this time. The public wants immigration reform and the President as well.

Just wondering if the Democrats will become a dictator in the US!

2Face · 2Face

Quote:

Originally Posted by EditorInChief

Just wondering if the Democrats will become a dictator in the US!

If you got something to say, be clear mate. Don't talk in circles. I have something to say and its as follows. Comprehensive Immigration Reform will pass by August in both the upper chamber and lower chamber of the United States Congress.

CosmicNightmare · CosmicNightmare

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

If you got something to say, be clear mate. Don't talk in circles. I have something to say and its as follows. Comprehensive Immigration Reform will pass by August in both the upper chamber and lower chamber of the United States Congress.

amandashawn · amandashawn

I hope your right, it's necessary, bigotry needs to become a thing of the past and reform is needed for our economy to survive!!

EditorInChief · EditorInChief

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

If you got something to say, be clear mate. Don't talk in circles. I have something to say and its as follows. Comprehensive Immigration Reform will pass by August in both the upper chamber and lower chamber of the United States Congress.

I agree with you that the CIR will pass this year. And that is good news.

But, what about AFTER CIR?

If our government keeps spending to the extent that the country can go bankrupt, what will then happen to the people who already live here in this country as citizens or permanent residents?

So, no dictatorship from a single political party. The power needs to be balanced between two parties.

Pianoswithoutfaith · Pianoswithoutfaith

You know, I ve been hearing this country can go bankrupt for DECADES. From people who are 60 to people who are 100. This country literally is too big to fail

K-Man · K-Man

Pay no attention, Lamar Smith is just another hill billy extremist in the same league as Jeff Sessions. They'd both be wearing Klan uniforms if they could get away with it.

Resistant · Resistant

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

If you got something to say, be clear mate. Don't talk in circles. I have something to say and its as follows. Comprehensive Immigration Reform will pass by August in both the upper chamber and lower chamber of the United States Congress.

We have another DA_USER.
I hope your outrageous predictions become true though.

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Lamar Smith: Immigration Reform With Citizenship 'Will Have A Hard Time' In House