Government Shutdown Update: Did it Kill Immigration Reform? [REPORT]

Washington's bitter feud left the country in stasis, rocked the economy and caused an uproar around the country. But the biggest victim of the government stalemate might be Predident Obama's immigration reform, USA Today suggests. Last week, Latin Times reported that President Barack Obama would not be backing down on the issue saying "Once that's done - you know, the day after - I'm going to be pushing [Congress]to say, call a vote on immigration reform." Yet many of the key issues affecting immigration legislation have not even surfaced, including a bill that could address the status of undocumented immigrants in the country. With time quickly running out to push through legislation this year, activists and pro-reform politicians alike are desperately trying to get some kind of reform in action before Thanksgiving, as many fear that delaying legislation til next year could mean an end for any significant changes.

The dust had barely settled in the colossal fight on Capitol Hill when President Obama drew national attention back to immigration. Just hours after the debt bill had been signed, the President stated that "This can and should get done by the end of this year." But as NBC reports, that would mean bipartisan cooperation in the 25 days left of the year before legislators go on holiday. Given that it took two weeks for both parties to come together on the debt bill, the hope of rapidly passing any kind of immigration reform at the moment is dwindling. Marshall Fitz, director of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress states that "there will definitely have to be a cooling off period...It certainly feels like the fever has not broken." With Republicans embittered over their recent loss, it seems unlikely that they will easily back any kind of Democrat-supported bill.

Immigration reform stalled in the summer when House Republicans refused to put a comprehensive bill on the floor, despite the fact that it had passed with an overwhelming majority in the Senate. In spite of Boehner spokesman Michael Steel's declaration that "we're still committed to moving forward on step-by-step, common-sense reforms," this kind of piecemeal approach to reform is only likely to stall significant change further. For Boehner to achieve any kind of change, he would need to rely on Democrat support in the house, which, given the volatile state of GOP at the moment might cost him his job. Despite the overwhelming support for President Obama by Latino voters at the 2012 election, many conservative GOP House members are still vehemently opposed to any form of immigration reform.

Although the President still clearly holds a strong desire for immigration reform, all of these obstacles in conjunction with the time constraint that has now been created by the shut-down, unfortunately mean that passing a significant bill this year seems unlikely. This in turn could spell the end of significant reform in the next year as there is likely to be little ambition for such a controversial topic to surface in a midterm election year. As Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, states, "Republicans don't have that much incentive to deal with it, there's a million other things to contend with it, and time constraints matter enormously. All of that makes it unlikely."