Unclear what House Republicans will do on immigration, beyond alienating Latino voters

House Republicans are between a rock and a hard place on immigration'the hard place being the likelihood that without immigration reform their party will keep losing Latino voters by landslide margins and the rock being that House Republicans are crazy. So what are they going to do about it? John Boehner is basically kicking the can down the road: he wants the Senate to pass its bill first, and then he'll send it through committee hearings and markups'most likely producing something completely incompatible with the Senate's bill yet giving House Republicans the chance to claim that they've passed something that the Senate should bend to. You know, like they've done with the Violence Against Women Act, and probably with the same level of success at convincing the public.  

But Boehner is in a legitimately difficult position, since there are of course a lot of different viewpoints, ranging from totally batshit extremist to merely far-right, among the House Republicans he's supposed to shepherd into passing something. And following the big Republican post-election strategy of keeping the same old positions but just trying to sound a little less hostile about it is a challenge when you've got, for instance, this from Iowa's Steve King:

'Anything that might happen to try to bring together rule of law Americans with those who are advocating for pathway to citizenship for people who have broken immigration laws disregards fact the president of the United States refuses to enforce the law,' King said. 'Anything you get for a promise from him has to be delivered in advance. He defies the Constitution and rule of law.'

That'll win over Latino voters! Meanwhile, Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador (who is Puerto Rican):

... said he supports the principles that the Senate laid out, but flatly said 'creating a new pathway' to citizenship for undocumented workers 'is not a good idea.' It would encourage more illegal immigration, he said.

Asked if he was flexible, Labrador said: 'The question that is more appropriate is how flexible are they? We've gone a bit to their side. If they're unwilling to be flexible on that issue, they want political victory not policy victory.'

No, I'm pretty sure that's a policy victory as well as a political one. It's just a policy you disagree with. And if you are totally opposed to one of the key pieces of what the Senate framework proposes, then you actually don't support its principles.

So basically, whatever immigration bill House Republicans end up with, by the time it comes to a vote, they'll have managed to alienate Latino voters even more completely than they already have.

Please join with Daily Kos and Workers' Voice by signing our petition supporting President Obama's call for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.