The effort to pass broad immigration reform came to a bitter end in the House on Wednesday, an outcome that will make it more difficult to craft a GOP-led compromise in the future.
A bill that was supposed to attract both conservative and moderate votes instead fell significantly short. It garnered support from a little more than half of the GOP conference, but none from the staunch conservatives who were needed to pass the legislation.
The bill failed by a vote of 121-301, with 112 Republicans and all Democrats voting against it.
“It was not a good vote,” Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., said.
Moderates are frustrated but said they are determined to keep negotiating with Republicans to try for another vote in the coming week. They argue the unsolved dilemma concerning “Dreamers” who came to the U.S. as children illegally and face possible deportation will force Congress to take action.
“Over the next several months, there will be a lot of pressure and even leverage for a bipartisan solution,” said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.
But Republican leaders, who have been skeptical about such a deal being passable, are unlikely to revisit the legislation this year. They allowed votes on immigration reform only after a threat of a discharge petition, which would have forced consideration of legislation favored by Democrats.
The GOP’s most conservative faction, the House Freedom Caucus, is unlikely to re-engage with the leadership on new legislation. They blame GOP leaders for failing to push harder to pass a more conservative immigration reform measure authored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.
The bill garnered 193 votes last week, failing to pass by fewer than two dozen votes.
They argued President Trump should have fully backed the Goodlatte bill. Instead, he promised to sign either bill and alternately said the vote was useless due to opposition from Senate Democrats who would block anything the House passed.
Conservatives say Trump should have backed the Goodlatte bill and pushed it toward passage.
“We really didn’t have the president weighing in,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said. “How far could we have gotten if we had that?”
The head of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., also accused Republican leaders of making last-minute changes that the HFC did not endorse. Meadows at one point was on the floor of the House, waving an angry finger at Ryan, who he said broke promises about the compromise deal.
Meadows and his fellow HFC lawmakers voted against the bill Wednesday.
The moderate faction is ready to abandon working with conservatives. They told reporters after the vote they believe the GOP is not capable of passing immigration reform legislation. A bill can only make it out of the House if it is written with Democrats, they said.
“It’s pretty evident it’s going to require a bipartisan fix,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said.
Diaz-Balart and the other moderates did not rule out working with Democrats on another discharge petition, which fell short of the GOP signatures they needed, but could win more in the post-election, lame-duck work session.
Outside of a forced vote, Republican leaders are unlikely to bring a bill to the floor that does not include President Trump’s requirements of funding for a border wall, ending the diversity visa lottery program and at least reducing chain migration.
Democrats oppose the president’s reform proposals.
Republican leaders are instead likely to bring to the floor a narrow bill that addresses the influx of migrant children and adults at the border so that they can remain together in facilities while they await immigration hearings.
Another vote is possible that would create a program for illegal immigrant farm workers while requiring companies use E-verify on new hires.
The compromise bill, however, is unlikely to resurface.
“It’s dead,” Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.., who voted against the measure, said. “It cannot be resuscitated.”
