House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, accompanied by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia speaks at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington. House Republicans met Thursday to discuss the future of immigration legislation.CAMBRIDGE, Md.- House Republicans wrestled with the outlines of immigration legislation on Thursday, sharply divided over both the contentious issue and the political wisdom of acting on it in an election year.
At a two-day retreat on the frozen banks of the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Speaker John Boehner said he and other House leaders wanted to gather reaction from their rank and file to leadership-drafted principles that already have provoked a backlash from some conservatives.
The most divisive of the points is a proposed pathway to legal status for millions of adults who live in the U.S. unlawfully and would be required to pay back taxes as well as fines to come out of the legal shadows. The principles also include steps to increase security at the nation’s borders and workplaces.
As contentious as it is, the proposal for legal status falls short of full citizenship, which was included in a bipartisan measure that cleared the Senate last year with the support of President Barack Obama.
The entire subject remains intensely controversial, particularly among conservatives in the House and Senate.