WASHINGTON (AP) -
House Speaker John Boehner on Friday said it
was time to address immigration policy and urged President Barack Obama
to take the lead in coming up with a plan that would look at both
improved enforcement of immigration law and the future of the estimated
11 million people living in the country illegally.
Immigration policy, largely
ignored during Obama's first four years in office, has reemerged as a
key issue as Republicans seek ways to rebound from the beating they got
from Hispanic voters during the presidential election. More than 70
percent of Hispanic voters supported Obama, who has been more open than
Republicans to comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws.
"It's just time to get the
job done," Boehner said at a news conference. He said lawmakers from
both parties want to resolve the issue. "But again, on an issue this
big, the president has to lead."
But Boehner would not
commit to supporting legislation that might open a pathway to
citizenship - an idea that most Republicans have strongly opposed - for
those living in the country illegally.
"I'm not talking about a
3,000-page bill," he said. "What I'm talking about is a common-sense,
step-by-step approach to secure our borders, allow us to enforce the
laws and fix a broken immigration system."
Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid said after the election that the vote showed that Democrats
are the party of diversity, and he plans to bring up an immigration
reform bill next year. He said Republicans would block such legislation
at their own "peril."
Boehner, in an earlier
interview with ABC, appeared to open the way for discussion on
immigration by saying that a comprehensive approach is long overdue, and
"I'm confident that the president, myself, others can find the common
ground to take care of this issue once and for all."
That won praise from Sen.
Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., head of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on
immigration, who called Boehner's recognition of the urgent need for
immigration reform a "breakthrough."
But Rep. John Fleming,
R-La., also expressed concern that Boehner was "getting ahead of House
Republicans when he commits to getting a 'comprehensive approach' to
immigration."
"There's been zero
discussion of this issue within the conference, and I'm urging the
speaker to talk with House Republicans before making pledges on the
national news," Fleming said.
Hispanics proved to be a
critical source of support for Obama, and Republicans have since cited
their failure to attract Hispanic voters as one reason for Obama's
victory. The two candidates offered a stark contrast during the
campaign.
Obama has been supportive
to immigration law overhaul and in June announced that people brought
here illegally as children who had graduated high school or served in
the military would not be deported and would be granted work permits.
GOP candidate Mitt Romney, meanwhile, supported more hardline policies
and at one point called for "self-deportation" to shrink the number of
people in the country illegally.
