Republican leadership scrambles to shore up caucus support ahead of Wednesday immigration vote

(Image credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

published 26 June 2018

The House is a day away from voting on a Republican immigration package that experts say is unlikely to pass, and stands no chance at all in the Senate. Still, in an attempt to garner conservative support for the so-called "compromise" bill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) filed a 116-page amendment with the Rules Committee on Monday night that would expand the E-verify program to mandate that all new employees in the country are cleared as legally eligible to work, as well as create a new visa program for farm and food-processing foreign workers, Politico reports.

President Trump has wavered on the bill, announcing last week that the GOP is "wasting their time" with immigration legislation, although the White House officially backs the efforts. Speaking on CNN on Tuesday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said that he believes the compromise bill can pass, "but the president needs to lean into this I think. A lot of members of my party want to hear from the president, they want to hear this is something he supports."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.