House Speaker Boehner Rejects Talks With Senate On Immigration Reform

Boehner: “I'll Make Clear We have No Intention Of Ever Going To Conference On The Senate bill.” As The New York Times reported:

Signaling an end to the push for major immigration legislation this year, Speaker John A. Boehner on Wednesday ruled out negotiations between the House and the Senate on an expansive immigration overhaul similar to one approved by the Senate with bipartisan support in June.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Boehner said that while House Republicans were working on a “common-sense, step-by-step approach in terms of how we deal with immigration,” they were unwilling to enter into talks with the Senate on a broad bill that would include a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants already in the country illegally.

“The idea that we're going to take up a 1,300-page bill that no one had ever read, which is what the Senate did, is not going to happen in the House,” he said. “And frankly, I'll make clear we have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill.”

With few legislative days left in 2013 and nearly all the focus on the health care law and House-Senate budget talks, Mr. Boehner said House Republicans had little interest in detouring on to immigration legislation that divides their party. His stance means the immigration fight would be pushed into 2014. If there was to be movement, it would probably have to come earlier in the year before the midterm elections get too close. [The New York Times, 11/13/13]

Associated Press: Boehner's Decision Is A “Fresh Signal From The Republican Leadership That The Issue Is Dead For The Year.” In an article on Boehner's statement, the Associated Press explained that Boehner's decision represented “a fresh signal from the Republican leadership that the issue is dead for the year.” The article continued:

The slow, relatively quiet death came more than four months after the Senate, on a bipartisan vote, passed a far-reaching bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally and tighten border security.

That fanfare for that bill was quashed by strong opposition among House Republican rank and file who reject a comprehensive approach and question offering citizenship to people who broke U.S. immigration laws to be in this country. House incumbents also are wary of primary challenges from the right. [The Associated Press, 11/13/13]

Right-Wing Media Cheer Boehner's Decision On Immigration Reform

Laura Ingraham: “Well, We Did It Again.” On her radio show, Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham discussed Boehner's announcement to refuse to go to a conference committee with the Senate-passed immigration bill, saying, “Well, we did it again.” She continued:

INGRAHAM: Back in 2007, yours truly and a band of brothers and sisters committed to the rule of law, American jobs, middle-class wages, and overall fairness for the American people. We stopped what George Bush was trying to do on immigration, quote, reform, which was really immigration deformed. And now, at least for the moment, we ended up working all together putting enormous an amount of pressure on Congress in getting it done. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 11/14/13]

Ingraham Lauded Conservative Media Colleagues In Effort To Stop Immigration Reform. On her radio show, Ingraham continued congratulating herself and others in conservative media, saying:

INGRAHAM: I have to say, John Boehner deserves a huge amount of credit, and I mean, I'm not gonna sit here and pat myself on the back. There were a few others who from the beginning were doing a terrific job on this: my colleague in radio Mark Levin, Michelle Malkin, the folks over at National Review, Andrew Stiles, the folks at Heritage Foundation -- and they run a great research organization there. Robert Rector has done great work on this. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 11/14/13]

Breitbart News: “This Is A Major Victory For Conservatives.” In an article highlighting Boehner's decision, Breitbart News wrote that while “the battle against amnesty is not over yet,” “this is a major victory for conservatives.” From the article:

While the battle against amnesty is not over yet -- informal negotiations, as the National Review's Andrew Stiles has written, still remain a distant possibility -- this is a major victory for conservatives in that the Speaker of the House is now on the record as saying he and the House of Representatives will not, under any circumstances, enter into formal negotiations with the Democratic Senate on amnesty.

But as Sens. [Jeff] Sessions and [Mike] Lee laid out in their op-ed for Breitbart News recently, there is still concern about immigration negotiations happening in secret outside of conference committee. [Breitbart News, 11/13/13]

Drudge Report: “Amnesty Dead.” The Drudge Report announced Boehner's decision using the headline, “Amnesty Dead,” underneath the controversial image of what appears to be an undocumented family running. The image also sported the caption, “Caution.” The image is routinely used by anti-immigrant groups to warn against illegal immigration.

[The Drudge Report, 11/13/13]

RedState: “Killing This Nonsense Was A Great First Step In Fixing A Broken Immigration And Naturalization System.” Fox Contributor Erick Erickson's website RedState called Boehner's decision “both good policy and good politics” and credited Boehner for “pull[ing] the plug on this bit of legislative legerdemain.” The article ended with:

We're often accused of being too critical of GOP congressmen and senators, so this would be a good opportunity to take to Twitter or email or the phones and let Speaker Boehner know that killing this nonsense was a great first step in fixing a broken immigration and naturalization system. [RedState, 11/14/13, italics original]

Conservative Media Figures Have Repeatedly Urged GOP To Obstruct Immigration Reform

Ingraham Advised Boehner To Step Away From Immigration Reform “Trap.” On the July 4 broadcast of her radio show, Ingraham likened immigration reform to a “trap” and stated that she was pressuring Boehner to make sure that he ultimately “walk[ed] away from this trap set” by congressional Democrats and other immigration reform supporters. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 7/10/13]

Bill Kristol, Rich Lowry Called On GOP To “Kill The Bill.” In a series of editorials, The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol and The National Review's Rich Lowry called on House Republicans to obstruct comprehensive immigration reform efforts by not passing any immigration reform bills out of the chamber. Kristol and Lowry argued that not passing legislation in the House would prevent Senate and House representatives from meeting to reconcile the differences between the Senate's bill and any bill that would pass the House. [The Weekly Standard, 7/8/13, via Media Matters]

Daily Caller's Mickey Kaus Advised Republicans On How To Filibuster Immigration Reform. In his Daily Caller column, Mickey Kaus advocated for Republicans to filibuster immigration reform efforts, claiming that following his advice would prove that "[a]mnesty as we know it can go away." Kaus also headlined a tea party event to stoke fears of how comprehensive immigration reform “would change America irrevocably, and for the worse.” [The Daily Caller, 9/4/13, via Media Matters]

Ann Coulter: If The House Were To Conference With Senate On Immigration Bill, “The Country Is Over.” On Fox News, conservative pundit Ann Coulter warned that “if the House passes anything concerning immigration” and conference with representatives from the Senate, the resultant bill “will come out an amnesty bill.” She claimed that if a reconciled bill passed, “the country is over.” [Fox News, Hannity, 6/12/13]

Rush Limbaugh: “Saying No” On Immigration Reform “Would Be Pretty, Pretty Wise.” On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh urged House Republicans to refuse to act on immigration reform, saying: “Why can't we just say no? You guys don't get everything you want. Well, we can't be the party of no. Why not? They already say we're the party of no. What's wrong with saying no in this case? Saying no in this case would be pretty, pretty wise.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/9/13]