U.S. House Will End Their Final Session For 2013 This Week Without Immigration Reform In Sight

Luis V. Gutiérrez and President Barack H. Obama

This week will be the last time the U.S. House is scheduled for a session in 2013 and the House leadership has no plans to vote on immigration reform.

By H. Nelson Goodson

December 8, 2013

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House will end their first session for 2013 and will not meet again until next year, automatically killing a U.S. Senate Immigration reform bill that was passed in June and any chance of passing an immigration reform bill in 2013 for President Obama to sign. Any hope of passing an Immigration reform bill before the week ends is dead and most likely, the effect will linger for the next six years.

Immigrant rights groups, activists, unions, clergy and federal legislators in favor of an immigration reform bill have come to realize that it will become even more difficult to influence reform for the next six to eight years due to the uncertainty of which political party will have enough majority control in both Houses and the White House to pass a bill.

Last week, Congressmen Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) who has advocated for immigration reform for the last five years believes, immigration reform is not dead, but any bill dealing with immigration reform has an uncertain future in coming years. Gutiérrez has acknowledged that this year, immigration reform will not be achieved. According to a news release by Gutiérrez legislative office, he has now joined Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and other Members of Congress (Reps. Schakowsky, Rangel, Holt, Titus, Doggett) in releasing a letter from Members of Congress to the President asking him to use his executive power under current law to dial back certain deportations. The letter, signed by 29 Members, says: "Our efforts in Congress will only be helped by the sensible and moral step of stopping deportations." 

Gutiérrez specifically called for a cessation on deportations for the parents of young people who have received DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and those who would be eligible for legal status under the terms of the Senate bipartisan immigration bill (S. 744) passed in June of this year.  The Senate bill has been endorsed by the President, according to the news release.

In a press conference announcing a letter that was sent to Obama, Gutiérrez said, "If your child has received DACA, you should not be deported.  If you qualify for legalization under the Senate bill -- a bill the President and the rest of the country supports -- you should not be deported."
Obama has come out in favor of immigration reform, but has failed to act on halting the deportation of undocumented immigrants and the parente of DACA DREAMers.
Obama did approved for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to use discretion in not deporting family members of active military service personnel and resident Veterans, provided they have no criminal record and convictions.

Copy (PDF) of letter sent to Obama by members of Congress to suspend deportations at link: http://bit.ly/IUd70L

Special report: Shout Out For An American Immigrant Economic Revolution To Influence Immigration Reform http://bit.ly/IUOjX1