Politics & Government

GA Latinos: Immigration Reform Leadership Lacking from Boehner

Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials highly critical after House Speaker John Boehner virtually squashes immigration reform this year.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters on Wednesday that he would not permit any House-passed immigration legislation to be combined with the Senate-passed reform bill, virtually squashing immigration reform this year.

Said Boehner, "I'll make clear we have no intention ever of going to conference on the Senate bill."

Pro-immigrant rights groups had hoped that legislative negotiating between lawmakers from the House and Senate could result in a comprehensive legislation that would lead to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

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In a report this year from International Migration Review, Georgia’s population of undocumented immigrants grew faster than all but six other states’ over the course of the past two decades. The study estimated that 396,876 illegal immigrants lived in the state in 2010, which is more than 11 times as many as were here in 1990.

Boehner did say that the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), “is working with our members and across the aisle on developing a set of principles for us to deal with this issue.”

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That isn’t near good enough for pro-immigrant rights groups, faith, union and community groups across the country, who according to the Midtown-based Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), “are outraged by the Speaker's overt refusal to do what's necessary to pass immigration reform, and we are committed to keep piling on the pressure on House Republicans to give us a vote on citizenship.”

In a statement, GALEO Executive Director Jerry Gonzalez said:

"It's outrageous that Speaker John Boehner would refuse to work with the Senate to solve our immigration crisis. This year, he has had the opportunity to get his party back on track with Latino, Asian American, and immigrant voters, but instead has chosen to listen to a far-right small minority in his party and fail the American people. He and the House leadership should be working non-stop and doing everything they can to end this moral crisis and stop the millions of families that are being torn apart.


"The House Republican leadership has more than enough time to pass immigration reform this year-and the upcoming holidays should not be an excuse for stalling and blocking reform from happening this year. It's during the holidays, particularly, when members of Congress should recognize what our broken immigration system is doing to immigrant families and motivate them to act immediately.


"Yesterday, I spoke with a woman who was distraught because her husband was stopped by police and detained by immigration officials. She was crying because he is the sole provider for the household that includes two U.S. citizen children with disabilities. Every day that the Speaker delays means that families will be separated. It is morally reprehensible not to lead and move for a path forward on this very pressing national issue. "Failing to lead is an abdication of responsibility. Speaker Boehner should lead and produce a solution for the American people and the millions of immigrant families impacted by our broken immigration system. 

"We will hold Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans responsible if they choose to fail America and not bring immigration reform to a vote. The pro-immigration reform movement is growing more diverse and stronger every day, and if House leaders choose not to bring citizenship up for a vote this year, our movement will be relentless in punishing those who block reform."


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