The Hill
April 10, 2014, 02:27 pmPelosi warns focus on deportations a 'gift' to Republicans
By Mike Lillis
Getty Images
Immigration
reformers shifting their focus from Congress to the White House over
deportations risk undermining efforts to pass a comprehensive reform
bill this year, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned
Thursday.
Pelosi said she supports the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's calls for the administration to reduce deportations. But simultaneously taking pressure off of House Republicans, she added, is a "gift" to GOP leaders, allowing them to dodge a sensitive issue that could hurt them in the 2014 election.
"That's a gift to the Republicans," she said. "Because the fact is, the Republicans are never going to move unless they think there's a price to play politically for not bringing the bill to the floor."
Pelosi stressed that legislation remains the Democrats' ultimate goal, and urged reformers to stay focused on Congress getting a bill.
"I see the pain and suffering of the deportations," she said. "But the answer, the medicine for every ill in the deportations is to pass comprehensive immigration reform."
Pelosi did not say that congressional Democrats or the White House should no longer consider reduced deportations. But her warning that the actions of pro-immigration groups could deliver Republicans a political benefit could raise questions about the strategy overall.
Many Democrats are calling on President Obama for reduced deportations, and Obama has asked Department of Homeland Security leaders for an across-the-board review of his deportations policies.
The move has made many critics hopeful he'll expand the administration's deferred action program, which allows some immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as kids to remain in the United States temporarily, to a broader population.
Pelosi said she supports the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's calls for the administration to reduce deportations. But simultaneously taking pressure off of House Republicans, she added, is a "gift" to GOP leaders, allowing them to dodge a sensitive issue that could hurt them in the 2014 election.
"That's a gift to the Republicans," she said. "Because the fact is, the Republicans are never going to move unless they think there's a price to play politically for not bringing the bill to the floor."
Pelosi stressed that legislation remains the Democrats' ultimate goal, and urged reformers to stay focused on Congress getting a bill.
"I see the pain and suffering of the deportations," she said. "But the answer, the medicine for every ill in the deportations is to pass comprehensive immigration reform."
Pelosi did not say that congressional Democrats or the White House should no longer consider reduced deportations. But her warning that the actions of pro-immigration groups could deliver Republicans a political benefit could raise questions about the strategy overall.
Many Democrats are calling on President Obama for reduced deportations, and Obama has asked Department of Homeland Security leaders for an across-the-board review of his deportations policies.
The move has made many critics hopeful he'll expand the administration's deferred action program, which allows some immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as kids to remain in the United States temporarily, to a broader population.
.....
Pelosi: Race playing role in GOP's reluctance to move immigration bill
Greg Nash
By Mike Lillis - 04/10/14 01:00 PM EDT
Issues of race have made GOP leaders reluctant to back immigration reform, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) charged Thursday.
The Democratic leader suggested that the Republicans would have moved a reform bill long ago if whites were the only beneficiaries."I think race has something to do with the fact that they're not bringing up an immigration bill," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. "I've heard them say to the Irish, 'If it were just you, this would be easy.' "
The remarks came in response to a question about the often-testy relationship between congressional Republicans and the administration of President Obama, the nation's first black president.
There's long been grumbling among Democrats that Obama's race has exacerbated the partisan divide between the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans, highlighted recently by a flare-up between Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black, and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.
Pelosi was reluctant to say that race issues have fueled those tensions, arguing more broadly that Republicans have been "very disrespectful" of White House officials regardless of their ethnicity.
Read More Here
The Democratic leader suggested that the Republicans would have moved a reform bill long ago if whites were the only beneficiaries."I think race has something to do with the fact that they're not bringing up an immigration bill," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. "I've heard them say to the Irish, 'If it were just you, this would be easy.' "
The remarks came in response to a question about the often-testy relationship between congressional Republicans and the administration of President Obama, the nation's first black president.
There's long been grumbling among Democrats that Obama's race has exacerbated the partisan divide between the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans, highlighted recently by a flare-up between Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black, and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.
Pelosi was reluctant to say that race issues have fueled those tensions, arguing more broadly that Republicans have been "very disrespectful" of White House officials regardless of their ethnicity.
Read More Here
.....
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