While this is undeniably good news that puts the onus on House Republicans, we shouldn’t get too excited yet because there’s virtually no chance that this bill will pass the House of Representatives.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a sweeping immigration bill that would allow the nation’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants to become U.S. citizens, overhaul the country’s immigration system and spend billions to secure the southwest border with Mexico.
After years of failed attempts, the Senate passed the bill on a 68-32 vote. The bill, drafted by a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight, would represent the biggest change in immigration laws since 1986.
John Boehner has made it very clear, more than once, that he will not pass an immigration reform bill without a majority of House Republicans. Several members of the House have also threatened to challenge him for the speakership if he does.
This means any bill that passes the House will have to be awful enough for a majority of House Republicans to vote for it. And any bill they find acceptable will likely be unacceptable to a majority of the Senate.
Such disagreements are the reason we have conference committees — to hash out the differences — but it seems highly unlikely that a bill passed by a majority of House conservatives will be similar enough to reconcile.