Asked by a reporter to predict whether "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation will get a vote soon in Congress, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said, “My job isn’t to predict when it’s going to happen. My job is to build the consensus that we need to have immigration reform,” according to ABC News.
Goodlatte was attending an event in Washington, D.C. today when the reporter posed the question. He said that Congress must address immigration “starting with enforcement [and] going to legal immigration reform.” Goodlatte continued, “Our immigration laws are not being enforced in many ways…We’re blurring the distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration, and the longer we wait, the worse that’s going to be. And there are new laws that are needed…“The grand bargain here is, we need to have an agreement that if we find the appropriate status for people who have been here a long time and pay back taxes and pay a fine and do some other things … allow them to stay here, but for the future, there would be zero tolerance of illegal immigration.”
He said Congress should also try to attract skilled foreign workers, including those educated at U.S. colleges and universities. “We want them to stay here and create jobs here,” Goodlatte said.
Some House Republicans are still reacting to Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) comments mocking their concerns about a comprehensive amnesty. “We have to man the watchtowers 24/7,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said “It is difficult to plan a specific course of action when the leadership keeps tossing out vague ways to give amnesty to illegal aliens. When we see a specific plan from the House leadership, then those of us who favor American citizens first will have a better idea of where the leadership is specifically going and how we will specifically respond.”
Read more in ABC News.
