Ted Cruz Organizes Meeting with House Republicans to Fight Amnesty

On Tuesday evening, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) reportedly met with 10 GOP House members in his office to strategize how to combat the push for amnesty in the coming months. 

Roll Call reported that Cruz and House Republicans, including Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), met for roughly 90 minutes. Conservatives are ready to gear up to oppose amnesty efforts after the Republican leadership has signaled they will make pushing amnesty a top priority.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said he is “hellbent” on passing amnesty legislation this year, while Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the GOP Conference Chair, said she hopes amnesty legislation could get to the floor by August. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he thought sweeping amnesty legislation could pass by “June or July.” Last year, Sen. John McCain (R-OH) said amnesty advocates would make a final push for amnesty after Republicans were clear of the primaries, and the high-tech lobby is reportedly gearing up to make a push in the spring to influence the amnesty debate. 

After the House GOP leadership released its “immigration principles,” Sens. Cruz and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) ended any momentum for legislation by saying the principles amounted to “amnesty.” Amnesty advocates were upset that Cruz’s opposition to the GOP principles effectively put the breaks on amnesty legislation.