Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said Monday that immigration reform will be “dead” in the House if lawmakers don’t act by early next year.
In an interview with Fusion’s Jorge Ramos, Diaz-Balart, one of the key House GOP negotiators for immigration reform, said it would be a “critical mistake” not to act on reform. But he also acknowledged, as he previously told the Washington Post, that it’s unrealistic to hope legislation could be passed by the end of this year.
“I agree with what they said that it’s unlikely that it’s going to happen in the remaining days this year,” he told Ramos, referring to party leadership’s comments on the chances of passing reform. “And I also think that if we don’t get it done by early next year, it’s frankly — you know — potentially dead.”
The third-ranking House Republican, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, said last week that there weren’t enough legislative days left for the chamber to act on immigration reform.
The Florida lawmaker also told Ramos he was frustrated that party leadership wouldn’t bring a reform bill to the floor without majority support from the Republican caucus.
“I don’t like rules that tie the hands of legislators,” Diaz-Balart said. “So I don’t like it, period. Now, we have that reality. Therefore we need 117 [members].”
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) also appeared on Ramos’ show and said Congress should work through Thanksgiving and Christmas if that’s what it takes to pass a reform bill, calling it “unconscionable” that lawmakers go on holiday while the immigration system in the country remains broken.
[h/t The Hill]
