Immigration Reform 2014: Ted Cruz, Tea Party Republicans Hold ‘Secret’ Meeting On Immigration, GOP Leadership

Roll Call reports that two groups of about ten conservative House Republicans have held meetings in recent days following comments by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in which Boehner mocked his colleagues for their unwillingness to tackle immigration reform this year. The speaker, who GOP members say is known for his rough humor with peers, has said he was only kidding, though he also admitted he may have gone “a little too far”. But the some of the chamber's most conservative Republicans still aren't amused.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has often proved a thorn in the side of GOP leadership for his fierce opposition to bipartisan deals on a variety of issues, convened the first meeting on Tuesday night with about 10 members of the House, the site reported. Lawmakers were reluctant to give details on what had transpired, but one attendee, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, said immigration had been high on the agenda. Roll Call reported a day later that Brooks also attended a second meeting featuring another, separate group of 10 or so lawmakers. He told the site afterward that if House leaders decided to introduce an “amnesty” bill, he and other House members would “have to go to extraordinary measures” to oppose it.

Democrats and immigrant advocates have seized on Boehner’s mockery as evidence that the true obstacle to reform isn’t President Obama – whom House GOP members say they don’t trust to enforce border-surveillance laws. According to the Washington Post, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday morning at a press briefing that she believed Boehner when he says he wants to pass a comprehensive immigration reform, but that his efforts were stymied by lack of commitment to the issue by his party’s rank-and-file. "When he put forth the principles, he ran it up the flagpole, we saluted; his caucus chopped down the flagpole."