Mr. Ryan, speaking at a Wall Street Journal CEO Council meeting, said the House would likely try to advance seven or eight bills, all dealing with immigration. He said this was in part meant as a way to avoid creating a large piece of legislation that was overly cumbersome.
“No offense to the [Obama] administration, we just don’t trust their word on this,” he said. He also said there is “literally not enough time to do it” in 2013.
“If we are trying to cram and rush just because it’s the calendar year, we don’t think that’s responsible,” he said.
He also said he believed there were a number of House Republicans who would support the ability immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally to eventually secure citizenship. But he said the process would be burdensome and drawn out – potentially taking up to 15 years – incentivizing immigrants to enter the U.S. legally. The Senate bill, which House leaders have rejected, would provide a 13-year path to citizenship.
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