The rebellion by moderate Republicans trying to force a vote on immigration in the House of Representatives is expected to succeed this week despite the wishes of party leaders, with the midterm elections just a few months away. The last few Congressional signatures will likely be added in the next few days to the petition that will force an immigration vote later in the month, bypassing House Speaker, Paul Ryan.
But, moderates say they are willing to negotiate with party leaders and conservatives to try and arrange an exclusively Republican deal on immigration to avoid a free-wheeling and potentially embarrassing debate on the House floor, which would most likely benefit a bipartisan deal that has heavy Democratic support but would still provide the moderates with the immigration vote they want.
The infighting over the issue between House Republicans is indicative of the divisiveness of immigration to Congressional Republicans, especially on questions such as supporting a pathway to US citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants and substantial changes to current immigration law, as well as the potential construction of a wall on the border between the US and Mexico.
On Tuesday, House members return to Washington after a weekend away and the successful signing of the discharge petition seems inevitable, needing just three more signatures, according to California Representative, Jeff Denham. Even conservatives believe it will happen but have pledged to use the opportunity to try to come up with a deal that they can likewise get behind.