On Thursday, speaking at the John Podesta-founded Center for American Progress, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that if it were not for the Tea Party, immigration reform would have passed long ago. He blamed Tea Party opposition to immigration reform on racism. “In a pre-tea party world, the Senate immigration bill would have been welcomed by House Republicans,” Schumer stated. “However, the tea party rank and file know it’s a different America. It looks different; it prays different; it works different. This is unsettling and angering to some.”
Schumer added that discomfort with demographic change – racism – explained “why so many on the right vehemently opposed the Senate immigration bill, a bill that actually embodies many conservative, non-governmental principals: reducing our deficit by billions, growing our economy, creating jobs and spurring new entrepreneurial activity.”
Republicans in the House have not pushed forward the Senate’s immigration bill, arguing that it does little to secure the border while essentially granting amnesty to the 12 million illegal immigrants living within the United States.