US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, one of the forces behind efforts by Republicans in the House of Representatives to come up with an immigration reform bill, says that early 2015 is the next real opportunity to pass such a measure; however, this is likely to continue to be elusive if the window closes with no movement.
Next year the political focus will inevitably move to the presidential election in 2016 and to announcements about who will run and what they intend to do. “I’m hoping we can do it [immigration reform] early next Congress,” Diaz-Balart admits. “If we don’t do it early next Congress, it just gets more difficult.”
This summer Diaz-Balart was frustrated when told that his bill would not be considered by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives during 2014. The congressman has come up with an immigration bill that might win support from both major political parties, offering a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants while developing stricter enforcement of the US border and inside the country itself.
Diaz-Balart publicly expressed his disappointment at the lack of response to his bill; however, he continues to champion the effort to reform the immigration system in the United States. He insists that much of the resistance in his party results from a lack of trust in President Obama’s willingness to enforce stricter border control measures.