'The issue of immigration reform has not changed,' Boehner says. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Boehner: No immigration change

For those looking for direct signs of immigration reform’s life – or death – from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday, there wasn’t one.

Asked at his weekly news conference whether the prospects of an overhaul were dead in light of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s primary loss on Tuesday, Boehner responded: “The issue of immigration reform has not changed.”


The reason: President Barack Obama has still not gained the trust from House Republicans that the GOP says is necessary to do immigration reform, Boehner said.

“The president continues to ignore laws that he signed into law, violating his oath of office, he did it again with the release of these Taliban five,” the Ohio Republican said, referring to Guantanamo Bay prisoners Obama recently released in exchange for an American prisoner of war. “Every time he does this, it makes it harder to gain the trust of our members to do the big things that need to be done around here.”

( Also on POLITICO: Cantor's lesson to GOP: Stray at your own risk)

Cantor’s primary opponent, particularly in the final weeks of the race, seized on the No. 2 House Republican’s support for limited immigration reform measures – such as legal status for young undocumented immigrants – as broader amnesty for those here illegally.

Still, Cantor’s loss in a race so hotly focused on immigration almost certainly hammered the nail in the coffin for the prospects of an immigration overhaul this year — whose chances were already facing significant hurdles in the GOP-led House.

Boehner declined to analyze the political implications of Cantor’s defeat, and on immigration, he said: “We don’t know that that is the issue or was the issue in the election.”

( Also on POLITICO: Your theory of why Cantor won is probably wrong)

But trust was still the paramount factor, Boehner said.

“Listen, the president is gonna have to demonstrate that he can be trusted to implement a law the way it is passed,” Boehner said.

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