Reid: Boehner will ‘cave in’ on immigration

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will “cave in” on immigration reform, expressing confidence that a proposal would pass the House sometime next year. 

Reid on Tuesday said Republicans would sign onto a deal if they ever want to see a GOP president again.  

{mosads}“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 Obama last time,” Reid told the Las Vegas Sun. 

Reid argued many GOP House members do not care about immigration reform because they “don’t have a lot of people of color in their congressional district.” But he said there is a portion of the party that does care. 

“I think there’s going to be so much pressure on the House that they’ll have to pass it,” he said. 

Reid described the issue as one that is not going away. 

“It’s here,” he said. “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.” 

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill earlier this year, but it has stalled in the Republican-led House. 

Boehner said late last month (see video below) immigration reform is “absolutely not” dead, but he prefers a piecemeal approach, arguing the public is weary of large bills. 

President Obama and other Democrats have expressed openness to a step-by-step approach, as long as it adds up to a comprehensive plan in the end.