Democrats in the House of Representatives say that in order for immigration reform to be able to move forward there has to be a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as a part of it.
Senator Charles Schumer of New York says that with the House having now come back from recess, representatives have been talking with Senators in order to come up with plans to make sure that the bill gets through the chamber, which is controlled by the Republican Party. “Without a path to citizenship, there is not going to be a bill,” Schumer has apparently declared to a source. “There can’t be a bill.”
Democrat aides are insisting that other representatives from the Republican Party also have to give their support to the citizenship pathway or they will not be able to get the bill passed. The Times claims that Republicans from the House of Representatives held a meeting on Tuesday July 9th in order to discuss methods of moving the bill forward. One of the House’s bipartisan groups is apparently hoping to be able to unveil their own broad immigration plan, according to Representative Zoe Lofgren from California. Other representatives are also insisting that any bill must include a path to citizenship.
“We hope our Republican colleagues in the House will be ready to reach across the aisle to work with us, because I don’t believe that the House of Representatives can pass any major immigration reform without Democratic support,” notes Representative Xavier Becerra from California.