Will Immigration Reform Pass In 2014? Harry Reid Predicts John Boehner Will 'Cave' On Legislation

In an interview with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he felt "positive we will get an immigration bill passed" in 2014. The 11th Congress wraps up at the end of that year, meaning bills introduced during this congressional session must be passed by then. Reid predicted that "there's going to be so much pressure on the House that they'll have to pass it," adding that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is "going to cave in" and introduce a bill which extends a path to citizenship for many of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

National polls indicate that strong majorities of Hispanic and Asian voters are in favor of a pathway to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants. Reid said that Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans he leads -- who refused to consider a comprehensive overhaul featuring a path to citizenship, passed in June by the Senate -- will eventually feel pressured enough to pass immigration reform with that feature. "This is an issue that isn't going to go away," he said. "It's here. We have 11 million people here who are not going to be sent back to their country of origin. They can't do that. They can't do it fiscally. They can't do it physically. It's nearly impossible."

Reid pointed to the ethnic breakdown of the congressional districts -- 111 of the 233 House Republicans represent districts which are more than 80 percent white -- as the reason why many of them members "don't care" about the issue. But he added, "But there are a number of them who do care. If the Republicans ever want to elect a Republican president again, they're going to have to get right with the Hispanic and Asian community who by more than 70 percent voted for [President Barack] Obama last time."

Reid's argument might be complicated by a Nov. 20 article in the New York Times which indicated for many currently undocumented immigrants, passing a bill which would legalize their status in the country is the top priority. Oscar A. Chacon, executive director of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, told the Times, "For many undocumented people, citizenship is not a priority. What they really care about is a solution that allows them to overcome their greatest vulnerabilities."

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