GOP push for immigration reform thwarted

washingtonpost.com ^ | 4/4/14 | Ed O'Keefe and David Nakamura

[cotton1706]

The head of the House Armed Services Committee dealt another blow to immigration reform efforts in the Republican-controlled House on Friday by deciding not to include in this year's defense policy bill GOP-written proposals that would permit undocumented immigrants to become legal U.S. residents if they serve in the military.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) speaks during a recent subcommittee hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) speaks during a recent subcommittee hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The decision could cause considerable political trouble for Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and other Republicans who represent districts with growing immigrant communities and are expected to face well-funded campaigns by Democrats and immigration rights groups to unseat them in this year's elections.

Coffman and Denham had been pushing proposals that would allow qualified undocumented immigrants to enlist in the U.S. military and then seek to become legal permanent residents if they met certain service requirements. Other House Republicans, mostly from Western states, have been pressuring GOP leaders to permit votes on the issue. In recent weeks, Coffman and Denham had asked GOP leadership to hold votes on their bills or at least include their language in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a comprehensive measure that is considered one of the few remaining must-pass pieces of legislation.

But House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) said Friday that he will not allow either proposal to be added to this year's defense bill because he didn't believe it was the appropriate legislative venue for the measure. The decision came after several days of protest by conservative Republican lawmakers, who first learned about the possibility of including Denham's proposal in the defense bill from reports in conservative news outlets such as Breitbart News.

[SharpRightTurn]

“The decision came after several days of protest by conservative Republican lawmakers, who first learned about the possibility of including Denham’s proposal in the defense bill from reports in conservative news outlets such as Breitbart News.”

Cantor, Boehner, and McCarthy are increasingly trying to sneak things pass their own caucus, like the Doc fix the other day without spending offsets that they didn’t notify their own party members about. Boehner is not to be trusted. Cantor is a serpent.

[reed13k]

We have always allowed foreigners to enlist in our armed services - but only in certain roles. I had many Phillipine nationals on my ships normally they worked in supply, disbursing, and medical. Some would apply for green cards while they served, others would not and return home with their retirement. This though is different, as there was no gurantee of immigration status previously.