The Congressional Hispanic Conference issued a warning to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s hope of quickly passing an immigration and border security bill.
Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, the Republican group’s co-chairman, said the current immigration proposal being considered had a long way to go before earning his support and urged GOP leaders not to push the bill until it could pass and become law.
“What you’re seeing is regular order. And in regular order, the committees shake things out — there’s a markup process,” said Mr. Gonzales, who represents a large chunk of the Texas-Mexico border. “There have to be conversations on the Senate side … with the White House … on how we get real solutions.”
Mr. Gonzales added that the 137-page immigration bill that is scheduled to be considered by the House Judiciary Committee this week was not “ready for prime time.”
“I am confident leadership will not bring anything to the floor that does not have the votes to pass,” he said.
The immigration proposal is a combination of eight other pieces of immigration legislation that have been circulated by various Republican lawmakers.
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Among other things, it would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to block any foreign national from entering the country if it is “necessary in order to achieve operational control over” the U.S. border.
“We know that if the United States fails to control our borders, the drug cartels will,” said Rep. Laurel Lee, Florida Republican.
The proposal would allow migrant children to be detained with their parents for the duration of immigration proceedings. The bill also makes it mandatory for U.S. companies to check immigration status before hiring an individual and penalizes them for knowingly employing an illegal alien.
Its most controversial sections, however, deal with the way the U.S. processes asylum seekers.
The bill proposal revives several Trump-era restrictions on asylum eligibility for migrants traversing the U.S.-Mexico border. It would further block entry to migrants who have traveled through another country in order to reach the U.S. if they did not first seek asylum in the other country.
The legislation requires migrants to seek asylum at designated ports of entry, rather than trying to enter the U.S. illegally. It would impose a $50 asylum fee for adult migrants.
Mr. Gonzales and other GOP lawmakers from moderate districts have raised concerns about the asylum restrictions. They say that the U.S. should not restrict legal pathways for asylum seekers whose lives are in jeopardy.
“We will fight for legal immigration,” said Mr. Gonzales. “We are completely against illegal immigration.”
Immigration and border security are two of the top issues on which Republicans ran in the last election cycle.
Despite the focus by GOP lawmakers on the topic, actual legislation that can garner sufficient support within the narrowly divided House has been difficult to draft.
Republican leaders initially pledged to put an immigration bill on the floor within their first month in the majority. But that promise was sidelined by internal bickering within the House Republican conference.
Even if Republicans can get a bill through the House, passing the Democratic-led Senate and avoiding President Biden’s veto would remain daunting tasks.
Among other things, Democrats have said they will only back an immigration bill that was “comprehensive” and offers a pathway to full citizenship for the more than 10 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.
Most Republicans see such a pathway as an amnesty, a reward for law-breaking, and thus a deal-sinking provision.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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