Why Conservatives May Do Nothing on Immigration

Speaker John Boehner “wants to pass a series of small bills dealing with immigration reform piece by piece, but it’s not clear whether 218 votes, the required number for passage, will be there for any of them,” National Review reports.

“Top Democrats are already signaling they’ll oppose the various bills being prepared by the GOP leadership, and conservative Republicans, especially, are wary. Many Republicans will prefer to simply vote against any bill, even if they agree with elements of the legislation, just to prevent Boehner from going to conference with the Senate. Such a conference, many conservatives fear, could lead to a consensus bill that includes amnesty.”

Greg Sargent: “This is why the critical question remains: Is there anything that can get a majority of House Republicans to support a path to citizenship under any circumstances?”