Looks like the chance of “comprehensive immigration reform” (a/k/a amnesty) passing the House just got a little less.

From Greg Sargent at WaPo, In blow to immigration reform, House `gang of seven’ bill looks dead

In a blow to the hopes of passing immigration reform anytime soon, the bipartisan House “gang of seven” plan is probably dead, and almost certainly won’t be introduced this fall as promised, a top Democrat on the “gang” acknowledges. “It doesn’t appear that we’re going to move forward with the group of seven,” Dem Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a key player on immigration as a member of the gang, said in an interview with me. “The process is stalled. I don’t believe we’re going to produce a bill anytime soon.” This undermines the already dwindling prospects for reform, because the House “gang of seven” plan — which would provide a path to citizenship but is significantly to the right of the Senate bill — was seen as a comprehensive plan Republicans who genuinely want to solve the immigration problem just might coalesce around. (The gang of seven plan would reportedly provide for a probationary period for the 11 million, in which they’d admit wrongdoing, and onerous conditions for the path to citizenship, which would be 15 years long.)

A quasi “Dream Act” seems the likely compromise, although depending how expansive it is in terms of “family reunification,” it could be a back door amnesty. Via NBC Latino:

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday said immigrant children brought to the country illegally by their parents should be given an earned path to citizenship, and he endorsed the possibility of providing legal status to adult immigrants in the country illegally by using three avenues already in existing law. Speaking at a GOP Conference Hispanic Heritage month event, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said children of immigrants not legally in the U.S. could find their way to citizenship by serving in the military, through education and working in specific fields. “For children brought here illegally by parents, I wouldn’t give them a special pathway to citizenship, I would give them an earned pathway to citizenship,” Goodlatte said.

The Goodlatte compromise is what Democrats have feared all along with their Why do you want to deport my daddy? campaign.

It takes away the “for the children” argument, but doesn’t give the Democrats 10 million new voters.



