WASHINGTON — A Congress that began with bright hopes for immigration legislation is ending in bitter divisions on the issue even as some Republicans warn that the political imperative for acting is stronger than ever for the GOP.
In place of a legislative solution, President Barack Obama’s recent executive action to curb deportations for millions here illegally stands as the only federal response to what all lawmakers agree is a dysfunctional immigration system. Many Democrats are convinced Latino voters will reward them for Obama’s move in the 2016 presidential and Senate elections, while some Republicans fear they will have a price to pay.
“If we don’t make some down payment toward a rational solution on immigration in 2015, early 2016, good luck winning the White House,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an author of the comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate last year with bipartisan support but stalled in the GOP-led House.
With the expiration of the 113th Congress this month, that bill officially will die, along with its path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in this country illegally.
Immigration is certain to be a focus for the new, fully Republican-led Congress when it convenes in January — but there’s little expectation the GOP will make another attempt at comprehensive reforms.
Instead, GOP leaders in the House and Senate have pledged to take action to block Obama’s executive moves, setting up a battle for late February when funding expires for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration matters. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has promised action on a border security bill as part of that.
Whether Congress can do anything to stop Obama remains unclear, because he’s certain to veto any effort to undo his executive moves. It’s also not clear lawmakers could pass a border bill or that Obama would sign it if they did.
A federal judge in Pittsburgh, ruling on a criminal immigration case, is declaring that Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab says Obama’s order in November designed to spare millions living illegally in the United States from deportation amounts to “unilateral legislative action.”
The administration has said the new policy does not apply to criminal cases.
