Rep. Luis Gutierrez Frustrated Amnesty Push Stalled
Long-time amnesty advocate and Gang of Seven leader Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is frustrated that "comprehensive" immigration reform has stalled in the House of Representatives. "I was hopeful we would be in a better place today," Gutierrez conceded to reporters during a town hall event in House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte's (R-VA) district last week.
After four years of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the bipartisan group has yet to release an amnesty bill. While Gutierrez claims the group has drafted a 500-page "comprehensive" bill, he is unable to articulate the path to final passage because the Gang's three GOP members have not yet officially endorsed the legislation. "I will be very clear and succinct: I have already signed off," Gutierrez stated. "It is now time for my Republican colleagues to step forward and to announce a date. If they give me a date, I'll be there and we'll present legislation and present it to the public."
Gutierrez casts the blame for the Gang's inability to produce a bill squarely on House leadership. "I think it is very, very important to understand, that unlike the Senate, the group has not received any support," Gutierrez said "In the Senate," he continued, "it was clear that the group of eight was going to have the support [of leadership], and that there would be hearings and theirs was going to be the main bill."
In a desperate attempt to guilt the House into passing amnesty legislation, Gutierrez has resorted to fear mongering. "[S]omeone's going to lose a finger, a hand, an eye, a life today because an unscrupulous employer is going to put them in harm's way, someone's going to die; there's a woman that's going to be raped in a field somewhere in America today" because the House has not passed the Senate's massive amnesty bill, Gutierrez audaciously declared at an event in Rep. Frank Wolf's (R-VA) district.