Rendell and Barbour Urge Support For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

August 19th, 2013

Two former governors from opposite sides of the aisle held a talk at Georgia Tech Monday on the importance of comprehensive immigration reform. The event was sponsored by the D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center.

The U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive bill in June, 68-32. Its reception in the Republican-led House has been chilly at best.

After speaking to about 50 business and civic leaders, Democrat Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania, said it was a matter of clearing up the concerns of a few dozen House Republicans.

“Maybe you could toughen the bill enough to persuade enough Republican congressmen to say to their leadership we’re going to vote against it but we don’t care if you bring it to the floor,” said Rendell.

Republican Haley Barbour, the former Mississippi governor, said a possible fix that could make a real difference is tying the number of new visas to border patrol effectiveness.

“The key test ought to be about outcomes, as in are we effectively controlling the border,” said Barbour.

He continued, “The status quo is awful if you’re a conservative Republican or if you’re a liberal Democrat. When you get to that situation normally both sides realize, ‘I’m not going to get everything I want. How do I get something far better than the status quo?’”

Georgia’s three House members vying for Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat in 2014 are all strongly opposed to the current bill due in large part, they say, to insufficient border security provisions.

In any event, Rendell and Barbour both agree the House probably won’t move on the bill until at least early next year.