WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans have split into competing factions over how to respond to President Barack Obama’s expected moves to change the nation’s immigration system, which are likely to include protecting millions from being deported.
The first, favored by the GOP leadership, would have Republicans denounce what House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has called “executive amnesty” and use the party’s new grip on Congress to fight changes to the law incrementally in the months ahead.
The second, which has become the rallying cry for conservatives, would seek to block Obama’s decision by shutting down the government until he relents.
Obama has pledged to use his executive powers to alter the immigration system this year, although it remains unclear exactly when he will act. He has asked top aides and Cabinet secretaries to present him with options but has not made a final decision, according to administration officials.
Among the options under consideration are proposals that potentially could protect as many as 6 million people who have entered the country illegally from deportation, according to several people familiar with Obama’s plans.
Obama is said to be considering instructions that would make clear that immigration agencies should focus on deporting criminals and repeat immigration offenders. New steps to stiffen security operations along the U.S.-Mexico border also are expected.
The internal debate among Republicans, which started to play out Thursday in meetings on both sides of the U.S. Capitol, represents the first significant test for Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., since Republicans won full control of Congress.
“It’s a big test for the leadership. We cannot listen to the loudest, shrillest voices in our party,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate Pennsylvania Republican. “At some point we have to fund the government, and we should not fight to attach some demand. I don’t want to stand by and watch as our party gets driven into a ditch.”
In a concession to the business community, Obama is likely to expand visa programs for immigrants working for high-tech firms. Doing so would please Silicon Valley executives, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and GOP lawmakers who have advocated making it easier for high-tech firms to recruit skilled workers from overseas.
Obama’s executive actions also might extend deportation protections to parents and spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years. He is also likely to expand his program that protects young immigrants from deportation.
Obama’s allies on Capitol Hill have been closing ranks in recent days, preparing to help defend whatever decision the president makes.
“We’ll stay on fire, Mr. President,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, referencing a comment by Boehner that Obama was “playing with fire.”
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., an advocate for an overhaul of immigration law, has been counseling House Republicans this week about the need to show empathy for undocumented workers, according to GOP aides familiar with his deliberations. He is concerned that too much vitriol could send the wrong message to Latino voters.
Still, Diaz-Balart said in a recent interview that Obama lacks the legal authority to act on his own and if he does so will upend any hope of bipartisan accord on unrelated issues, including major trade agreements and tax reform.
Added Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., “This whole threat of an executive order has a chilling effect on everything.”
House and Senate negotiators have been working for weeks on legislation to fund the government past Dec. 11, when the current short-term spending deal expires.
The agreement is expected to run through the end of the fiscal year in September. Aides in both chambers hope to bring the measure up for a vote before the Dec. 11 deadline.
A group of influential centrist Republicans told Boehner and his leadership team at a meeting Thursday that they must avoid another fiscal impasse and that this is the moment to take on the more extreme elements in their party.
They argued that unless Boehner takes on Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others pushing for a hard-line response, he risks seeing his conference unravel.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a top Boehner ally, signaled Thursday that House leaders are working to avoid a shutdown and telling colleagues that opposing the president’s policy does not necessitate a standoff over government funding.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
