Thomas Donohue, the head of the US Chamber of Commerce, the biggest business group in the country and a traditional ally of the Republican Party, says that he is still confident that Congress’ top Republican will push to make sure comprehensive immigration reform is achieved.
Donohue claims to be unworried by the refusal of House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner to enter into negotiations with the Senate over its sweeping bipartisan reform bill and that he supports the latter’s decision to take a piecemeal approach to the issue with smaller, step-by-step measures to fix the country’s broken immigration system. “I believe it will get done,” Donohue told a news conference that was attended by business, law enforcement and religious leaders, all of whom share his optimism and determination.
Back in June the Senate approved a landmark bill that would have helped to bolster border security while offering a pathway to citizenship to the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants that are currently living in the US, but so far just a small number of limited bills have been passed by the House of Representatives, and not one of them has offered a path to citizenship.
Donohue says he will help Boehner to get the votes required to pass a series of bills that would provide comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to US citizenship and that such legislation will be good for business, labor and the nation as a whole.