House Republicans are facing heavy pressure from both sides of the immigration debate as they return to their home districts for August recess with no clear indication as to how they’ll vote on the issue.
The decision to pass comprehensive immigration reform has essentially been in the hands of the Republican-controlled House since the Democrat-led Senate passed such a bill in June.
House Republicans were under pressure before they even left their Capitol Hill offices to start the five-week recess, which is traditionally dedicated to face-to-face talks with hometown voters.
The American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter Tuesday to House lawmakers urging them not to work with senators on their “dangerous” bill.
Among the major concerns is that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not equipped to process the potential onslaught of new applications.
Another is that the Obama administration might implement immigration law passed by Congress “in a fashion of its own choosing,” considering that it bypassed Congress last summer by stopping the deportation of young, law-abiding immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents or others, the union letter suggests.
The Senate bill includes billions of dollars for border security, new workplace enforcement requirements, a revamped legal immigration system and a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally.
Many House Republicans oppose granting citizenship to people who crossed the border illegally or overstayed their visas. And GOP leaders have already rejected the Senate bill, instead proceeding with narrow, single-issue bills, starting with border security.
House Speaker John Boehner has said he wants a vote on immigration reform.
However, before leaving Washington, Republican leadership also appeared more focused on repealing or defunding ObamaCare, to perhaps avoid the rancorous kind of town-hall style meetings over health care that took place in summer 2009.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/03/house-republicans-feel-summer-recess-heat-on-immigration/#ixzz2axoRntFJ
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