Boehner's remarks are a major setback for immigration reform advocates. Boehner squashes immigration talks

House Republicans will not negotiate over the Senate’s immigration reform bill, Speaker John Boehner said, dealing another blow to the chances of an overhaul being signed into law this year.

“Frankly, I’ll make clear, we have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday morning.


The remarks are a major setback for immigration reform advocates. Many proponents of reform thought that if the House passed small-bore, tightly-focused immigration bills, it would create a pathway for a formal negotiation with the Senate’s bill. But conservatives have balked at entering into negotiations, because they fear ending up with a bill that is dominated by the Senate’s priorities.

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House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told immigration activists last week in Bakersfield, Calif., that there would be no immigration legislation on the floor this year.

Republican leaders are struggling to figure out how to move forward on immigration reform — a policy that that stirs deep emotions from the right but could serve to expand the party’s popularity with minorities. Boehner said Wednesday that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) was writing a list of principles intended to guide the party on how to enact immigration reform.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a chief architect of the Senate legislation, indicated that he still believed immigration reform will happen, and that Republicans would need to court Democrats in order to pass any overhaul bills.

“They cannot possibly end this Congress only having passed legislation to deport all of the Dream Act kids,” Schumer said, referring to a House vote in June to defund an Obama administration program that defers deportations of young undocumented immigrants.

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And Boehner’s comments peeved some in his own party who have been actively drafting immigration reform bills. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said Wednesday that Boehner should reconsider ruling out a potential conference on immigration.

“I urge Speaker Boehner to remain open to any options that allow us to solve this crucial issue,” he said. “It has been said time and time again that our immigration system is broken, and we must come together to find a sensible solution to fix it.”

Before Boehner spoke at the press conference, he was accosted by a pair of young immigration advocates on Wednesday morning at Pete’s Diner — the Hill fixture where Boehner is a regular for breakfast. The speaker indicated to them that he is still working on getting reform bills through the House.

The two teenage girls who approached Boehner told him personal stories about how U.S. immigration laws affected their families, with one – Carmen Lima – telling Boehner about her father who was deported.

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“How would you feel if you had to tell your kids at the age of ten that you were never coming home?” Carmen, who is from California, asked Boehner, according to a transcript provided by Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a pro-reform coalition. Jennifer Martinez, a 16-year-old from Washington, shared a similar story with Boehner.

“That wouldn’t be good,” Boehner responded.

Boehner told the girls that he is “trying to find some way to get this thing done.”

“It’s, uh, you know, not easy — not gonna be an easy path forward,” he said. “But I’ve made it clear since the day after the election that it’s time to get this done.”

Lima, 13, then asked whether they could count of Boehner’s vote for immigration reform, and Boehner responded that he “will try to find a way to move the bill forward.”

Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, said the speaker was referring to his “step-by-step” approach to immigration reform, which means taking up reform with a collection of bills, not a sweeping comprehensive bill like the Senate passed in June. Boehner reiterated that position at the press conference.

“Just understand something: I want us to deal with this issue,” he said. “But I want to deal with it in a common-sense, step-by-step way.”