John Boehner, the House of Representatives Speaker, refused to say whether immigration reform should include a pathway to US citizenship for undocumented immigrants on Sunday, deflecting the issue by claiming that the debate in the House is not about him, in spite of his influential status and past remarks.
Appearing on Face the Nation on CBS, Boehner dodged numerous questions to try to get him to outline his own personal opinions on the prospect of offering a path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants that are currently living in the United States, something that has been a big bone of contention between the Senate, which is led by the Democrats, and the House of Representatives – which is controlled by the Republican Party. “It’s not about me, it’s not about what I want,” the Ohio Republican claimed. “This is about allowing the House to work its will.”
A sweeping bipartisan immigration reform bill has been passed by the Senate that includes a path to US citizenship, something that Republican lawmakers have dismissed as an “amnesty” that would be rewarding people for breaking the law and result in more illegal immigrants coming to the country.
Boehner claimed that if he were to take a personal stand, that would make it more difficult for him to be able to find a consensus on the issue in the House of Representatives. “My job in this process is to facilitate a discussion and to facilitate a process,” he says.