WASHINGTON — A lawmaker who helped negotiate a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration predicted on Sunday that comprehensive legislation would overwhelmingly pass the Senate by July 4 while House Republicans cautioned that they would write their own version, one piece at a time.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he anticipates as many as 70 of the 100 senators will vote for the measure heading to the full Senate on June 10. Even if it passes there, the proposal faces tough prospects in the Republican-led House, where lawmakers are at work on their own piecemeal approach that could stall a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in this country illegally.
"We are moving forward because we believe in a bipartisan way this is so vital for America, and we'll have a good bill," Schumer said, pledging to allow colleagues to amend the legislation.
Not so fast, House lawmakers cautioned.
"That Senate bill is not going to move in the House," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.
House lawmakers have pledged to put together their own measure — likely taking components of the comprehensive Senate plan one at a time and adding their own priorities.
Democrats and Republicans alike recognized the political potency of the issue. The Senate, led by Democrats, is putting added pressure on the House, led by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Congressman Boehner is in a box. There are about 60 or 70 of his people who are against any immigration reform. But at the same time, he knows that the Republican Party will be consigned to a minority party for a generation if they're anti-immigration," Schumer said.