Hoyer: Difficulty of immigration in House depends on what Senate includes in bill

Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday indicated a Senate bill’s border-security and
enforcement provisions could go a long way in persuading moderate Democrats to
support immigration legislation.

“Clearly I think strong enforcement at the borders and
assuring secure borders is not controversial.  I think everybody agrees
with that,” Hoyer said at his weekly press briefing.

He said there are Republicans and Democrats on both sides of
the issue, “so it’s not as simplistic a divide as some issues are.”

{mosads}Hoyer and other Democratic leaders have said the House will
only take up the issue after the Senate acts.

The issue has jumped on the congressional radar recently
and has threatened to bump energy and climate legislation for Senate floor
time.

For many House Democrats already facing tough reelection
campaigns, the prospect of having to vote on an immigration reform bill this
year is daunting. Some Democrats have said flatly they could not
support a comprehensive bill that included a pathway to citizenship for illegal
immigrants, regardless of its parameters.

But Hoyer seemed to indicate stringent border security provisions
could go a long way toward addressing the concerns of those members.

“I believe that we do need comprehensive immigration reform
coupled with strong enforcement at the borders,” Hoyer reiterated.

The Majority Leader also said he understood the motivation
behind a controversial Arizona immigration law that requires police to question
and obtain citizenship documentation from anyone they reasonably suspect is in
the United States illegally, even though he believes the law goes too far.

“I think the law was passed was a law that is very
inconsistent with our past practices in America, that we don’t go around asking
people for ID cards,” Hoyer said. “In part, of course what the people of
Arizona are saying is, ‘Look, the feds haven’t done their job.’  I think
they’re right.  The feds haven’t done their job.”