Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart tells Roll Call that the campaign for immigration reform is picking up momentum in the House. In a telephone interview, Diaz-Balart told the newspaper: “It is as close as we have ever been. It is still a big, big, heavy lift…I think we’re going to get there.”
In the past week, House Speaker John Boehner challenged fellow Republicans to act on immigration and two Republican congressmen from Illinois called for reform. Diaz-Balart has been active for months in efforts “to produce a bill that could balance Republican demands for border security with Democratic calls for legal status for the undocumented,” says Roll Call.\
The Los Angeles Times said, “The window for Congress to approve an immigration overhaul is closing, but House Speaker John A. Boehner continues to suggest that action is still possible — even as he mocked his colleagues who find the hot-button issue too difficult.”