23 times the immigration reform bill has been at death's door
Reports of the legislation's impending demise have been greatly exaggerated
On Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowed to not bring an immigration bill up for a vote unless he was certain that a majority of his party's members supported the legislation. The threat placed another roadblock in the path of immigration reform, and led some pundits to proclaim that the legislation is as good as dead.
But the immigration bill has been declared dead many times since it was first discussed at the start of the year. And like a zombie with a single-minded hunger for legislative gamesmanship, the bill has pushed the obituaries aside and staggered onward.
Here, 23 instances when immigration reform was supposedly dead or dying:
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June 18: "Immigration Reform 2013: Boehner Just Killed It, and Shot the GOP in the Foot" (Policy Mic)
June 13: "Marco Rubio: 'I'm Done' If Immigration Bill Includes LGBT Couples" (Huffington Post)
June 7: "Is Immigration Reform Dead? Fox News Latino Panelists Debate Its Future" (Fox News)
June 6: "Why the House's Immigration Bill is Falling Apart" (The Week)
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June 5: "Do Republicans Want Immigration Reform?" (Washington Post)
June 5: "House Talks on Immigration Reform Near Collapse" (ABC)
May 28: "Is immigration reform dead?" (American Thinker)
May 14: "House immigration group at impasse" (Politico)
May 9: "Poison Pills And Deal Breakers: Senate Panel Considers 300 Amendments To Immigration Reform Bill" (Talking Points Memo)
May 8: "GOP: Stronger borders or immigration bill will die" (Associated Press)
May 7: "Amendment for Gay Couples Threatens Life of Immigration Bill" (U.S. News & World Report)
May 2: "Did Boston Bombing kill immigration 'reform'?" (Legal Insurrection)
April 27: "House, Senate differences endanger immigration reform" (Washington Examiner)
April 22: "Time is the enemy on immigration reform" (Washington Post)
April 18: "Immigration reform: Will it go the way of gun control?" (The Week)
April 16: "Tragedy threatens immigration push" (Politico)
April 4: "Will Rubio Roll Over or Walk Away?" (National Review)
April 1: "Rubio Keeps One Finger On The Eject Button During Immigration Talks" (Talking Points Memo)
March 31: "Marco Rubio: Reports of immigration deal 'premature'" (Politico)
February 19: "Conservative Democrats could join GOP to stop immigration overhaul" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
February 17: "Immigration leak gives GOP Excuse to Balk" (Politico)
February 16: "Rubio: Reported Obama immigration plan 'dead on arrival'" (Politico)
January 19: "The Numbers Just Don't Add Up on Immigration Reform" (The Nation)
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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