All eyes are on the U.S. House now after the Senate passed Immigration reform bill last week. The bill passed with the support of both Democrats and Republicans. However, there are worries a tougher battle awaits in the House.
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, a Republican, spoke with reporters at a Bloomberg Government event streamed online Friday.
The focus of the conversation was the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform now passing in the U.S. House.
Diaz-Balart, who represents parts of Collier and Miami Dade Counties, said a bipartisan immigration working group he is part of is coming up with its own immigration plan, regardless of what the Senate’s been up to.
“The assumption that because there is a Senate bill individual members of the House will feel pressure to support that bill frankly is just not accurate,” he said.
Diaz-Balart said he also isn’t worried about a deadline and is working to come up with a bill that the House’s many conservative members will vote for.
Some Republicans in the House have said they will not support any immigration plan that includes a path to citizenship, which is a key part of the Senate bill.
