Politics Ups – Meadows

CIR

Will Pass

Will pass – GOP’s on board but Obama’s leverage key to overcome oppositionHaas 10/23 (Nathaniel, “Immigration Reform Will Be Crucial For GOP,” 10/23/2013, http://dailytrojan.com/2013/10/23/immigration-reform-will-be-crucial-for-gop/, AC)These polls might be bleak, but the next legislative agenda item, comprehensive immigration reform, offers both the GOP and Congress an opportunity to prove to the American public that Congress can actually be productive. Immigration reform, which passed in the Senate over the summer, failed in the House of Representatives after it

was unable to garner majority support. The biggest obstacle immigration reform faces this time is convincing a majority of

House Republicans to go against the nebulous Hastert Rule used by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) to

justify not bringing the bill to a vote over the summer. Many voices within the party are touting immigration reform as the gateway to a better relationship with Latino voters. Moreover, most of the components of reform are favored by a large majority of voters . The International Business Times reported that more than 50 percent of voters support implementing an electronic system that will allow employers to check the immigration status of employees, a path to citizenship for the undocumented, a system to ensure people who enter the country leave it, more visas for highly skilled workers and an increase in border security. The hard line to walk for the GOP in regards to immigration reform, however, is that if the legislation is passed, the political benefits from it would be shared with President Barack Obama and the Democrats. The last thing Congressional Republicans want to do is hand Obama a victory on immigration: Despite its popularity with voters, as long as immigration reform is a win for Obama, it can succeed. In some capacity,

Republicans recognize the necessity of immigration reform happening , which is why they’ve begun passing

piecemeal bits of reform. Still, Republicans loathe the idea of helping Obama score back-to-back wins on the debt ceiling and immigration. For

immigration reform to pass by the end of the year, expect a long-fought battle: The GOP will stand firm, but if Obama

displays the same kind of backbone that he displayed over the shutdown, a deal seems inevitable . The impending debate over immigration reform will be largely indicative of the future of the GOP. The test for the Republican Party leadership, and Boehner in particular, is to show how ignoring the Hastert Rule and passing policy is more important than scoring political points. It sounds crazy, but it’s happened before.

Will pass – TOA now and GOP wants it – recent actions proveJacoby 10/22 (Tamar, “Immigration Reform Would Help GOP,” 10/22/2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/opinion/jacoby-immigration-after-shutdown/, AC)The government's open. Washington is back at work. House Republicans, licking their wounds, are asking themselves what's next. And President Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet: The top item on his agenda is

immigration reform. What are the chances that the House will now move ahead on immigration? The answer will have less to do with immigration than with how the budget battle has changed the larger political dynamic in Washington. House Republicans' views on immigration are untested, and many advocates for reform believe they are implacably hostile. But the truth is Republican opinion has been evolving since the 2012 election. More and more House Republicans, perhaps the majority, know that reform is overdue and that the GOP must be part of the solution -- to remain competitive with Latino voters and because it's the right thing to do . Individual lawmakers and essential staff continued to work on the issue even through the dark days of the shutdown. And members are coalescing around answers to the hardest of the hard questions: what to do about immigrants living in the United States illegally? House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is working on a bill that would create a path to citizenship for "Dreamers" brought to the U.S. illegally as children. And one recent informal

count found 84 House Republicans -- more than one third of the total -- in favor of legal status for the Dreamers' parents .

Will pass – renewed bipartisan push and healthcare doesn’t thump Mason 10/23 (Jeff, “Amid Healthcare Woes, Obama to Discuss Immigration Reform on Thursday,” 10/23/2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/23/us-usa-immigration-obama-idUSBRE99M1L520131023, AC)(Reuters) - As the White House struggles to fix the problem-plagued rollout of its healthcare reform law, President Barack

Obama on Thursday will try to focus attention on another policy priority - immigration reform - with a call for congressional action. The president, who listed immigration as one of three priorities for this year after the 16-day government

shutdown concluded, will make a statement at 10:35 a.m. (1435 GMT) at the White House urging lawmakers to finish work on measures to strengthen U.S. borders and provide a pathway toward citizenship for millions of

people who are in the United States illegally. "The president has made clear the key principles that must be a part of any bipartisan , commonsense effort , including continuing to strengthen border security, creating an earned path to citizenship, holding employers accountable and bringing our immigration system into the 21st century," a White House official said on Wednesday. "He will urge that Congress take up this issue in a bipartisan way."

Will Pass – Pol Cap Key

Obama’s pol cap is key to passage – now is crucialEpstein 10/17 (Reid J., “Obama’s Latest Push Features A Similar Strategy,” 10/17/2013, http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/barack-obama-latest-push-features-familiar-strategy-98512.html, AC)President Barack Obama made his plans for his newly won political capital official — he’s going to hammer House Republicans on immigration. And it’s evident from his public and private statements that Obama’s latest immigration push is , in at least one respect, similar to his fiscal showdown strategy: yet again, the goal is to boost public pressure on House Republican leadership to call a vote on a Senate-passed measure. “The

majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do,” Obama said Thursday at the White House. “And it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it. Now, if the House has ideas on how to improve the Senate bill, let’s hear them. Let’s start

the negotiations. But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering for another year, or two years, or three years. This can and should get done by the end of this year.”

Will Pass – AT: GOP

GOP will pass CIR – party image and votersLeopold 10/17 (David, “Immigration Reform: A Pathway to Citizenship for the GOP?” 10/17/2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-leopold/immigration-reform-republicans_b_4115804.html, AC)The question now is whether reasonable Republicans have learned that they can't let extremists run their strategy. The have a clear way out of this mess , and an historic opportunity to earn back the confidence of their supporters and the respect of the American people. How? By working with House Democrats to pass a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, one which keeps the borders safe, prevents employers from gaming the system, provides a temporary worker program, and gives the 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the shadows a reasonable path to earned citizenship. Of course there are those who will say immigration reform is not possible now, especially given the nasty partisanship of the past couple of weeks. Why on earth would the House GOP work with President Obama and their counterparts in the House on immigration reform given the animosity and partisan

bickering that plagues Washington? The answer: because it's in their best interest . Recent polls in key GOP held districts show that voters overwhelmingly support immigration reform with a path to citizenship. More ominously

for the GOP, polling from NBC/Wall Street Journal, Washington Post/ABC News, and Public Policy Polling shows that the Republican party's image is badly in need of repair among the American people and especially among Latino voters. They could surprise everyone by doing something big and bold and turning immediately to broad immigration reform. Just this morning, Mr. Obama reiterated what he has been saying all week -- even during the midst of the debt crisis -- that immigration reform is one of the three key issues upon which Republicans and Democrats can work together to strengthen the economy. The president stressed that an immigration overhaul will grow the economy by $1.4 trillion. It's something the majority of Americans agree about. Immigration reform also happens to be the right thing to do. The American people want it and the American economy needs it. And therein lies the opportunity. Just as the House GOP leadership handled the fiscal cliff crisis which loomed at the start of the year, and just as the House GOP leadership finally ended the debt crisis this week, House Republicans can fix America's broken immigration system if they are willing to work across the aisle. This time they should take charge, boldly seize the initiative and push forward to pass a bipartisan

immigration bill. And they have a framework from which to build . Earlier this year, as Mr. Obama pointed out this morning, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill, and did so on a bipartisan basis. The House leadership should work with willing Republicans and Democrats to build upon the legislation hammered out in the Senate, send it to the floor for a vote and, deliver it to the White House for the president's signature. And even if they can't bring themselves to do that, they can put together the pieces that ultimately can fix what's wrong with our immigration system. In this case, a "win" for Obama is also a "win" for Republicans . That's why

immigration reform is different than any other issue in Congress. If they do this right not only will the House GOP have given the country a badly needed immigration overhaul -- but they will have taken a major stride toward rebuilding their brand and earning the confidence of the American people .