With members of Congress heading back to Washington following their month-long holiday, John Boehner, the speaker of the House of Representatives, says that the issue of immigration reform may finally become a priority for the chamber in 2015. The Hill says that Boehner believes Congress finally making immigration reform a priority will depend on whether President Obama addresses the issue using his executive powers.
Congress is more likely to want to responsibly tackle immigration reform if Obama starts to make the United States border more secure, Boehner claims. The speaker has previously acknowledged that the House of Representatives is not going to tackle immigration reform this year due to the influx of unaccompanied immigrant minors from Central America.
A number of Republicans have threatened to block budget discussions should Obama take executive action on immigration reform; however, this has been played down by the speaker, who says that he has every expectation that a continuing resolution will be passed to ensure that the US government is funded for the next few months.
In addition to the issue of undocumented minors crossing the US border, Congress is also unwilling to deal with immigration reform due to the president’s threat to deal with the issue himself using his executive authority, according to Republicans; however, House minority speaker Nancy Pelosi has pointed out various instances in the last couple of years when Boehner has broken his own promises with regard to reforming the country’s immigration system.
