The House of Representatives brought their session prior to the holiday break to an end without having made any headway when it comes to the issue of immigration reform. However, leaders from both parties have declared that the issue will be worked on early in 2014, the New York Times is reporting.
An immigration hearing is top priority for next year, according to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Representative Robert W Goodlatte. He says that the House of Representatives intends to take a piecemeal approach and bring forth a series of bills with the intention of improving the process of legal immigration, strengthening enforcement and finding an “appropriate legal status for those who are not here legally today.”
“For us, it is inevitable that we will pass comprehensive immigration reform,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told demonstrators on the National Mall. “For some, it is inconceivable and they will stand in the way. But we know it will happen, and we just have to shorten the time.” Although the idea of addressing reform is opposed by many Republicans within the House of Representatives, the reality is that the persistence of Democratic lawmakers and advocates have made it impossible for them to ignore the issue.
On Thursday, the offices of over 170 lawmakers from both of the major political parties were occupied for about an hour by over 1,000 immigration reform advocates, while the hunger strikers on the Capitol have received support from immigrant and religious groups as well as Democratic lawmakers.