House Immigration Reform Bill Drafter: We Think We'll Get Paul Ryan as Co-Sponsor

A Republican House Member who is secretly drafting a 500-page comprehensive immigration bill with six others hopes Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will ultimately be a co-sponsor of the legislation. 

“We’d love to have Paul Ryan,” Rep. John Carter (R-TX), the Gang of Seven Member, told Politico when asked if the group would be able to land Ryan as a co-sponsor. “I think we will.”

Politico reports Ryan has been “in deep conversation” with supporters of comprehensive immigration reform like Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). He has also been in touch with Reps. Mike McCaul (R-TX) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), of the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees, respectively, as well.

“I’m just trying to find the sweet spot,” Ryan told the publication on Friday. “I see an emerging consensus.”

According to Politico, “Ryan’s vagueness” has “some on the right concerned” because they are “privately skeptical about Ryan’s involvement.”

“They say he is really aiming for a large-scale immigration bill — and toying with a piecemeal approach publicly only to appease leadership,” Politico claims. 

Last week, Richard Viguerie’s Conservative HQ warned Paul Ryan to not commit political suicide by following in the footsteps of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has gone silent since his comprehensive immigration reform bill passed the Senate nearly a month ago.

The bill is not expected to be released until at least September. As Breitbart News reporter Matthew Boyle wrote, conservatives are fearful any immigration reform bill passed in the House will turn into the Senate’s bill once it goes to conference. The Congressional Budget Office determined the Senate’s bill would lower wages for working class Americans while not solving the illegal immigration problem.