USA Today reported that ever since the US Senate has passed a comprehensive immigration bill last year, it has yet to experience a little action aside from suggestion an overhaul of principles in the House. The initial bill that secured a majority approval in the Senate includes provisions that would allow undocumented immigrants already in the US to obtain citizenship status. The overhaul suggested by purportedly Republicans in the House majority only strengthens measures on border controls and allows undocumented immigrants to "get right with the law" and stay in the US.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, referring to the Republicans, answered a question as to whether the issue of race is a factor in the slow progress of the immigration bill, "I think race has something to do with the fact that they're not bringing up an immigration bill. I've heard them say to the Irish, 'If it were just you, this would be easy.'"
Drew Hammill, Pelosi's spokesman, later clarified that the Irish comment reportedly done by the GOP was relayed to his boss several times by Irish immigration activists she had med with, the Associated Press said.
During an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and New York Representative Steve Israel shared somewhat of Pelosi's comment and said, "To a significant extent the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism. And that's unfortunate."
Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, who also appeared with Israel on the CNN program, said that Pelosi's comments nonetheless was unfortunate and wrong, USA Today said.
On the other hand, Israel was quick to dismiss the generalization that all Republicans are motivated by race. He added that the American people at least wanted them to vote on the matter, suggesting that legislation such as the immigration bill sometimes goes through a lengthy process in order to put it into law.
