Idaho Congressman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) has indicated this morning on NPR’s Morning Edition that he and his colleagues in the House GOP will not vote for a pathway to citizenship in immigration reform legislation.
“The people that came here illegally knowingly — I don’t think they should have a path to citizenship. If you knowingly violated our law, you violated our sovereignty, I think we should normalize your status but we should not give you a pathway to citizenship,” Labrador told NPR.
The Idaho Republican also said that those people who violated the law knowingly should be given a visa, but not a green card or a pathway to citizenship because he finds it unfair to the people who are attempting to normalize legally. Labrador also reasoned that when the U.S. offered the last amnesty in the 1980s which allowed people to become citizens, the U.S. “opened the floodgates” for more people to come into the country. He wants to discourage this kind of migration.
According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, 55% of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for the some 11 million undocumented living in the country. 68% of Democrats support the pathway to citizenship, while 52% of Independent voters and 42% of Republicans favor it.
President Obama has called for a pathway to citizenship in his plan for comprehensive immigration reform. Yesterday, a group of undocumented youth activists from the United We Dream network, called for a direct pathway to citizenship for all of the unauthorized immigrants regardless of age.
About the Author
I agree that Congress should not make it easier for people who entered the country fully knowledgeable they were breaking the law. However, I do think they should be provided an opportunity to go to the back of the line, pay a substantial penalty and apply for citizenship within a specified time frame and without the fear of deportation or incarceration.
[...] According to reports, an immigration bill from the gang of eight could be unveiled as early as tomorrow or next week. One of the reasons why there is a focus on citizenship is that there is some trepidation in the House of Representatives about including a pathway to citizenship i…. [...]
[...] would be 13 years and contingent upon certain border security goals being met. In February, Congressman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) indicated that he and his GOP colleagues would not support immigration legislation that included a path to [...]
[...] NPR’s Morning Edition Congressman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) said, “The people that came here illegally knowingly — I [...]
[...] debate, this comment from Senator Rubio isn’t a big surprise. Back in February of this year, Congressman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) told NPR’s Morning Edition that he and his colleagues in the House GOP would not vote for an immigration bill with a pathway [...]