As the Senate debated the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform legislation Wednesday, several Republican members of Congress and Hispanic community leaders came together outside the Capitol to voice their opposition to the bill.
The participants all came away with one key message: That the country’s immigration system has to be fixed, and it’s not necessarily something that politicians can do on their own.
“There’s a perception that all the solutions to our problems will have to come out of Washington. Well, these people here disagree,” Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told rally participants. “The solutions will come from our families, from faith-based organizations, from older families mentoring younger families.We’ve thrown trillions of dollars at problems only the communities themselves can solve.”
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) added that his conversations with the leaders and supporters were helpful in allowing him to better understand the issue.
“This is an opportunity to better understand how it affects the whole nation,” he said. “We want to fix our broken immigration system once, right, and lasting for generations.”
For the most part, Republicans and Democrats have been largely split on how to solve the problem, particularly on the issue of amnesty for the approximately 11 million illegal aliens already in the country. The Senate bill, which is not supported by House Republicans, provides a pathway to amnesty as long as the border is made more secure. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced Tuesday that it is unlikely he will bring forth a bill to the House floor that provides a pathway to amnesty.
When asked how House Republicans will reconcile their bill with the Senate’s bill, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said that the solution was simple.
“We work it step-by-step. That’s how the legislative process works,” she said.
