immigration

President Barack Obama could announce as soon as next week an overhaul of the immigration system that would protect up to 5 million people from deportation and provide work permits to many of them, said the New York Times, citing administration officials.

Rep Luis Gutierrez, long active on immigration reform legislation in the House, "declared the prospects for reform dead this year and said the only option left is for President Barack Obama to take unilateral action to stem deportations," says Politico.

The defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican primary in Virginia "could have major implications for an immigration overhaul," says the New York Times.

Only 7 percent of Americans believe the U.S. immigration system is "generally working," says a survey by the Brookings Institution and the Public Religion Research Institute.

The House could begin debate this week on the Agriculture Department funding bill for the fiscal year that opens on Oct 1, says Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office.

Supporters and opponents of immigration reform cranked up the pressure on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, says Roll Call, "with less than two weeks to go before a closely watched primary race and the clock steadily ticking down on the 113th Congress."

Six pro-reform groups say "Speaker John Boehner and the House have a real window of opportunity to pass lasting immigration reform legislation by August." In a statement, the groups say they will press the House for action and ask the White House to delay issuing any executive orders on immigration until the fall. “We know that House leaders can act. We know that nothing stands in their way. The time is now," said the groups.

Speaking to law enforcement groups, President Obama said there is a "narrow window" of time for passage of an immigration reform law before election-year politics become paramount. "So we've got maybe a window of two, three months to get the ball rolling in the House of Representatives."

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and two California agriculture leaders called on the Republican-controlled House to vote soon on immigration reform. Vilsack, who said he was confident a reform bill would pass, said Republican leaders should "do what leaders are supposed to do.

AgSec Vilsack, saying "there is no question the opportunity for immigration reform is now," urged House Republican leaders to "pass something so you create a vehicle" for a House-Senate compromise.

House Speaker Boehner told fellow Republicans there was no "conspiracy" to move an immigration reform bill this summer, says Roll Call.

Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart tells Roll Call that the campaign for immigration reform is picking up momentum in the House.

Speaker John Boehner faulted his fellow House Republicans as unwilling to act on immigration reform during a speech to a service club in his Ohio district, says the Cincinnati Enquirer.

House Democrats say they will distribute memos in 30 congressional districts to encourage Republican lawmakers to sign the discharge petition petition and force a floor vote on comprehensive immigration reform, says Roll Call.

RollCall says about two dozen House Republicans are on record in support of the principles for immigration reform unveiled by their leaders a month ago and three dozen are against it.