Immigration Reform 2014 News: Bill Could Be Passed This Year or Next
Immigration reform is again taking center stage in the U.S. with the midterm elections due in November.
With polls predicting that Democrats will lose control of the Senate and remain in the minority in the House, Republicans are looking to force President Obama to accept several bills, including one dealing with immigration reform.
Obama in the meantime has put any executive orders on immigration reform on hold until after the elections.
Speaking to Politico, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is tipped to become the Senate majority leader, has stated that the Republican Party is going to "pass spending bills, and impose restrictions on the activities of the bureaucracy." He admitted that this is something that Obama will not like.
With Republicans aiming to push through various legislations, New York Magazine notes that they may be able to work with Democrats in passing the immigration reform bill. However, the publication says this bill could feature watered down immigration reforms and may not touch on tough issues such as the 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States.
Reports say any immigration reform bill that lawmakers may pass either this year or the next could most likely deal with increasing the number of visas available for skilled immigrants, while stepping up border security in the U.S. New York Magazine believes that Democrats will not be able to say no to toned-down immigration legislation even if they do not like it.
As for the Latino community, reports say they are feeling increasingly alienated from the Democratic Party since Obama announced that no executive decisions on immigration would happen before the elections.
Bloomberg notes that among Latinos, Obama's approval rating on immigration issues fell from 54 percent to 42 percent after he made the announcement last June.
Despite this, Republicans still trail the Democrats with a 24 percent approval rating among Latinos. This is not surprising since the Republican-controlled House stalled changes in immigration laws last year, according to Bloomberg.
