Representative Paul Ryan’s bid for the position of speaker of the House of Representatives is in doubt, with a number of conservative Republicans threatening to revolt if he applies for the job due to his history of supporting massive immigration reform. Republicans want anyone who takes the speaker job to represent the bulk of Republican voters who reject the notion of more immigration and oppose amnesty to undocumented immigrants.
Representative Steve King says that most of the conference is in agreement with his stance that if Ryan tries for the speaker job, he will have a fight on his hands. Just 7% of Republican voters want to see more immigration in the United States, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, with a Kellyanne Conway poll showing that 80% of voters want to see a 90% reduction in new immigration. Just 4% agree with Ryan’s previously-stated opinion that employers should be allowed to hire anyone from anywhere.
Despite the massive disapproval of Republican voters, no Republican Party leaders seem to be willing to actually support cuts to levels, which see over1.2 million new immigrants arriving in the United States per annum. The American Jobs Alliance’s executive director, Curtis Ellis, wrote in a recent opinion piece that “Ryan represents an extreme, radical minority within the Republican Party.” He add that Ryan wants “a borderless world” and asked: “Aren’t the majority of Republicans entitled to leadership that actually represents their views?”