Leaders in the Republican Party are moving away from their longstanding opposition to allow 11 million illegal immigrants to be able to stay in the United States following Hispanic voters’ overwhelming support of President Barack Obama in the election last week.
John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, has made remarks that appear to break a massive conservative taboo when it comes to the issue of immigration, but has resulted in the sparking of a fierce debate in a party that is still trying to come to terms with its crushing defeat by Obama last Tuesday.
“What I’m talking about is a common sense, step by step approach to secure our borders, allow us to enforce the laws and fix a broken immigration system,” Boehner says. “It’s just time to get the job done.” Boehmer added that it was up to Obama to now lead the way on immigration.
While concern was raised about Boehmer’s comments from Republican congressman from Louisiana John Fleming, who griped that the Speaker should have consulted with colleagues prior to “making pledges on national news” his words have nonetheless caused hope to blossom in Washington, which means that one of the most divisive issues to hit the country could reach a resolution after many years of often bitter debate.
Boehmer’s comments were echoed by influential conservative media commentator Sean Hannity, who admitted his own opinions on immigration had now “evolved” and that he believed undocumented Hispanic immigrants should now be offered a pathway to US citizenship.