Republicans block path to citizenship for military veterans
Republican leaders in the House on Friday blocked a vote on a popular bipartisan measure that would have provided a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have served in the military. Known as the ENLIST Act, the legislation had been proposed by Jeff Denham, a Republican congressman from California.
So why did Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) move to kill the bill? Opposition from the far right, of course, which remains staunchly opposed to any reform that grants "amnesty" to immigrants. We've seen this movie before:
Cantor himself faces a primary challenge in Virginia June 10 from a Tea Party opponent who has criticized the majority leader for not being conservative enough and accused him of supporting amnesty for immigrants living here illegally. [AP]
And with that, immigration reform is officially dead until after the 2014 midterms, and perhaps beyond.
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