Vice President Joe Biden said it would be tough to swallow a proposal to fix the immigration system that does not include a path to citizenship for people living illegally in the United States..
Mr. Biden, though, suggested in an interview with CNN that the Obama administration would be open to such a proposal if that is the best they could get.
“That’s clearly not our preference,” he said. “Any bill that passes out of the House has to go through a conference committee with the Senate, which passed overwhelmingly a pathway to citizenship. Dual status in America, legal but not citizens, is a bad idea.”
Mr. Biden said President Obama is waiting to see what House Republican leaders are willing to pass after outlining their principles — which did not include a pathway to citizenship — for immigration reform last week.
“Let’s be straight, as the president said,” Mr. Biden said. “You see the way the hard right responds to anything the president says. So the president is being very smart. He’s saying what passed, we support. See what you guys pass and then we’ll respond, because what you don’t want to do is create more problems for John Boehner in being able to bring this up.”
Mr. Biden said that if Mr. Boehner, the speaker of the House, allowed a vote on the Senate bill — which includes a pathway to citizenship — it would pass.
SEE ALSO: Boehner says no immigration deal until Obama enforces laws
“A significant portion of Republicans and all the Democrats would vote for it,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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