Reid Predicts Boehner Will Conference on Amnesty

For at least the second time this month, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) claimed House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will cave on comprehensive immigration reform next year. 

“I think that John Boehner will conference with the Senate. Why wouldn’t he? He’ll have a lot of pressure from his members now that the election is getting closer,” Reid told The Hill on Friday. Earlier this month, as Breitbart News reported, Reid told the Las Vegas Sun that Boehner would “cave in” on amnesty. 

Boehner reportedly told House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to wait until next year for amnesty. He has also declared that amnesty is “absolutely not” dead in this Congress.

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill last year that had a pathway to citizenship provision, which the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of working class Americans. Comprehensive immigration reform failed to move in the House, and President Barack Obama admitted it was “frustrating” that he could not accomplish his biggest policy objective of comprehensive immigration reform in 2013, even though only three percent of Americans in a national Gallup poll believe immigration reform is the nation’s most important priority. 

Though House leaders have said they would not go to conference on the Senate bill, they have not ruled out going to conference on piecemeal legislation. Democrats and President Barack Obama have said they would be okay with breaking up immigration reform into pieces as long as all the pieces–including the pathway to citizenship provision–pass. Proponents and opponents alike have agreed that the pathway to citizenship provision, which Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said had to be a “fundamental principle” of comprehensive immigration reform, would be inserted into an immigration bill that goes to conference. 

As Breitbart News has reported, amnesty advocates “may be going all-in next year to pass the legislation.” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) conceded that next year may be the last chance for comprehensive immigration reform because the next Congress will not take up the issue. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) negotiated a budget deal, so amnesty advocates think enough space has been cleared on the legislative calendar for comprehensive immigration reform consideration at the beginning of next year.