Immigration reform low on the House priority list as 2014 session starts
The House of Representatives returns from its winter recess this week, and according to a memo sent to House Republicans by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), immigration, while on the to-do list, will not be a priority at the start of the session. Instead, the House will focus most of its attention on a farm bill, the 2014 budget, health care, and Iran.
Mentioned at the very end of Cantor's memo, immigration was listed as an issue that "may" be brought up "over the next few months."
Speculation of a renewed push for immigration reform circulated last week after the New York Times published a story about several statements Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had made as well as his hiring for former McCain-staffer, Becky Tallent, as his immigration advisor. But as election season draws closer - the first primaries are in Texas on March 4 - it will be more difficult for the House to act.
Further, a recent insurgence by al-Quida in Iraq may also draw attention away from immigration reform.
For more information, see Roll Call.