On Friday night, President Barack Obama said there should be a “price to pay” for Republicans who oppose comprehensive immigration reform–or amnesty for illegal immigrants, in effect.
“The only way we can continue to place pressure to get that bill done is by making sure that the other side–or at least that small faction on the other side–understands there’s a price to pay when you don’t act on the basis of the interests of the American people,” Obama said. “And so that’s something that I hope we can still get done by the end of this year.”
Obama reportedly made his remarks “at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) at a private residence” in Miami, FL.
As The Hill noted, Obama has “said he’d be open to signing any piece of immigration reform legislation that Congress can pass, as long as it contains a pathway to citizenship for those in the country illegally,” which Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has said had to be a “fundamental principle” of any immigration bill Congress passes.
The Senate has already passed an immigration reform bill with a pathway to citizenship, which the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of working-class Americans. McCain has also indicated that supporters of comprehensive immigration reform would be relentless even if they fail to get a bill this year, saying they would make a final push for it after the Republican primaries next year when Republican lawmakers are clear of challengers from the right.
Big business interests and the Republican establishment are also reportedly going to wage war against conservatives, particularly those who oppose comprehensive immigration reform, in the primaries.