Here's Rubio, the GOP point man on immigration reform,
deep-sixing his own bill:
“The bill that’s in place right now probably can’t pass the House,” Rubio told Mike Gallagher, a nationally syndicated talk show host. “It will have to be adjusted, because people are very suspicious about the willingness of the government to enforce the laws now.”
He continued: “That is a very legitimate suspicion, it’s one that I share, and if there’s anything we can do to make [the bill] even tighter … that’s exactly what we should be working on.”
What Rubio his just done is move the goalposts. Before, he sought a bipartisan consensus with Democrats and was willing to put together a bill that could pass the Senate. However, now he wants a bill that can pass the nutcase-infused, bigoted GOP House. The bill could be faced with the Hastert-rule which would require the support of the majority of the GOP caucus before it is brought the House floor. However, Boehner has violated the rule before and he may do so again. That isn't clear at this time. But with opposition ratcheting up on the far right, I suspect that the House wingnuts will demand more and more concessions until Democrats can no longer support the bill. Then, they will blame Democrats for not supporting reform. This is how they operate.
The question for Democrats is how hard Democrats will fight for a path to citzenship, which is fundamental to reform. That is what the GOP will seek to remove or make so impossible to attain that it is meaningless. We cannot accept a system of permanent second class citizenship for our folks. We'd be better off with nothing if that is the price for a deal.