On Tuesday, leaders of the House of Representatives rejected an attempt to ensure that all US employers make certain that employees have the legal right to work in the country, indicating that Republican leaders feel it does not have the support necessary to become part of a new comprehensive immigration bill.
Conservatives wary of the new bill had supported the E-Verify plan, but its failure means that the House will now vote on a plan which still features a pathway to US citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors. The plan is likely to be voted on as soon as Wednesday and would also offer $25 billion for border security and slash legal immigration.
Farming groups opposed the employee verification system, with such groups representing enormous chunks of the Central Valley districts of California Representative, and House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy and California Representative, Jeff Denham, who have led attempts to tackle immigration in the House of Representatives. Both members could be hurt in the upcoming midterm elections in November by their decision to allow the E-verify plan to go forward in the House.
Denham is seen as particularly at risk, with a sizeable Hispanic population in his district, which in 2016, was won by failed Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and for months has pushed for an immigration vote. It is still uncertain if the complete immigration bill will be able to win enough votes to pass.