No News on Immigration Bill is Good News

The House Republicans have decided that the Senate immigration bill needs some attention from the voters, which will probably result in the bill dying when the congressional term expires in November. Note how AP starts the report:

In a defeat for President Bush, Republican congressional leaders said Tuesday that broad immigration legislation is all but doomed for the year, a victim of election-year concerns in the House and conservatives' implacable opposition to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

Although the AP would undoubtedly enjoy a defeat for President Bush, I'm not so sure inaction on this bill is in any way a defeat. If anything, it might prevent Bush from signing a really bad bill and raising the ire of conservatives. If anything, the failure of this bill will be a victory for conservatives and that's got to help come November when Republicans will need them at the polls.

"Our number one priority is to secure the border, and right now I haven't heard a lot of pressure to have a path to citizenship," said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., announcing plans for an unusual series of hearings to begin in August on Senate-passed immigration legislation.

"I think it is easy to say the first priority of the House is to secure the borders," added Rep. Roy Blunt (news, bio, voting record), the GOP whip.

In deference to the president, neither Hastert nor any other Republican official in either house said publicly that the president's ambitious plan — including a guest worker program as well as an opportunity for citizenship for many illegal immigrants — was dead for the year.

But several Republicans in both houses, speaking on condition of anonymity, were less guarded.

"There will be no path to citizenship," said one lawmaker who attended a strategy session in Hastert's office.

Some officials added that Republicans have begun discussing a pre-election strategy for seizing the political high ground on an issue that so far has served to highlight divisions within the party. Among the possibilities, these officials said, are holding votes in the House or Senate this fall on additional measures to secure the borders, or on legislation that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving Social Security payments or other government benefits.

"The discussion is how to put the Democrats in a box without attacking the president," said one aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It looks like the plan now is to take this show on the road and hold public hearings all over the country during the August recess. House members are sure to get an earfull from citizens who are not happy with the many elements of the immigration bill which seem designed to reward illegal behavior. No bill is definitely better than a bad bill.